A senior English teacher sat amongst his students one day in May. During that class, he looked at each and every one of them and told them to discuss what they though would be the "seven wonders of the world." The students spend the entire class period arguing and debating what the seven wonders were. There was much disagreement. Finally, towards the end of the class, the students agreed (by majority rule) on the following seven: The Pyramids of Egypt, the Taj Mahal, St. Peter's Basicillia, The Panama Canal, The Empire State Building, The Great Wall of China and The Vatican City in Italy. The teacher was pleased with his class for not citing local landmarks and not just American institutions. Still, he was curious about one boy sitting in the corner of the room. Normally the most outspoken in his class, the boy had remained silent throughout the debate, with his only focus upon the lone piece of paper sitting on his desk beneath his blue pen. When the teacher reached out to him, he asked him, "What are you writing there?" The boy answered back "I think that these 'seven wonders' we have chosen as a class are impressive, but they're only seven of man's greatest achievements. The bell rang and everyone left the classroom except for the boy and his teacher. The teacher asked the boy if he could have that piece of paper. The boy gave it to him, and with a wink, he left too. The teacher took one look at the paper and read off what his student had written:

The seven wonders of the world:
- the ability to hear
- the ability to see
- the ability to touch
- the ability to smell
- the ability to taste
- the ability to believe
- the power to love

In this world, we take so much for granted, be it our family, our friends, our teachers or even our own selves. We look to the successes of others before us and claim them to be man's greatest abilities. We praise and thank God for giving us the strength to make the impossible seem real. Yet, none of these successes, these inventions, these 'masterpieces' would not be able to take place at all if not for the seven wonderful gifts that He has given us.