Blessings

I’m fond of ending my correspondence with “Be Blessed.” I like that as a greeting as well. It’s even become a kind of code word among Christians. But I’m thinking that maybe I need to modify it. After all, we are blessed. That’s not in dispute. The real issue is do we realize we are blessed. For me, I feel blessed sometimes, but lot’s of times…not so much.  I find it good periodically to review my blessings. Here are just some:

Friends are those people you can tell anything and they can do the same to you. Your blessings are multiplied if your friends include your family and you’re over the top if you can count your spouse as a friend. I can. I’m blessed.

I know to us Christians, the world, is a bad word. But I’m talking about the beauty of His creation. How can you walk about the last few days in this gorgeous weather and not be overcome with a feeling of blessing.

You can’t do everything, but you can do something. With a painful knee recently it has been easy to focus on what I can’t do. But even with that I can do so much. Our ability to do things is a blessing and a privilege we often abuse by disuse.

4. Your capacity for experience.

Jesus said He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. What a waste when we live life minimally. Get off the couch. Turn off the tv and go do something. 

God did not have to create us with the capacity to bless others. In His great love He shared that most wonderful of gifts. As Gary said yesterday (boy I hate to give him credit) to be blessed, just bless someone.

Even when you can’t count every family member as a friend (see number 1 above) everyone in your family is a blessing. Sometimes God gives them to us to help mold us and that’s not always fun. But it is a blessing.

8. Your stuff.

I know we’re not suppose to focus on things. But God sure has given us a bunch. It’s a great lesson to spend time in the presence of those who have so much less. It’s beyond understanding why we have so much. It’s unforgivable how miserly we are with what we have been given. 

Here I don’t mean the visions you have at night when you have eaten too much watermelon. Although those can be gifts. I mean the ideas God planted in you for a what you can be. He loves us where we are, but designed us for so much more. He plants in us ideas of what his plan for us is. It’s a great and marvelous plan. It’s a blessing to have a dream and  a joy to walk out.

11. Our times

I know it’s fashionable to yearn for the days of old and to consider these the worst of times. But consider, we are closer to the return of Jesus than at any other time in history. We have more tools with which to share Him than every before. We are able to see His creation in ways our parents never dreamed of. He put us here at this time for a reason. We don’t deserve the times we’ve been given, but we sure have an obligation to take advantage of them.

12. His Son.

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I saved the best for last. For without Jesus none of it matters. How can we possibly be low? What place does depression have in our lives? What do bills or illness, suffering or even death matter? The worst that can ever happen is that we die and be with Him. We are truly blessed.

You’re blessed. Now that you know it. Tell someone else.

Nick