Have you ever taken the time to think about what’s going on in your life, and what true blessings you’ve been given?
Sometimes we get mired down with some of the stuff that is disconcerting in our lives. We somehow magnify the problems we face, and then all we see is what is wrong. We can dwell on those things to the point where we just simply neglect to see and acknowledge what all is good in our lives.
I believe we get stuck on seeing life as unending cycle of accumulation and an unceasing quest for better and better. That kind of thinking leads us to see what we have as less than desirable. We begin to complain about what we have, wishing for what we don’t have.
I wish I could remember where I read this, but it goes something like this…
“The job you complain about, someone who is unemployed would love to have. The car you complain about, someone walking would be ecstatic over. The house you complain about being too small, a homeless person would see as a mansion. The food we eat, for someone who is hungry, they would see as a banquet. The fact that we’re healthy and moving around, a person who is ill and bedridden would trade places with us in an instant.”
Life really is about perception. Its too easy for us to become jaded about the many blessings we’ve been given. There is an illusion that what we have is totally of our own making. We believe we deserve what we have, and deserve even more than what we have. Its entitlement thinking, not gratitude thinking.
We’ve been given so much, and so often we truly fail to recognize our blessings and fail to be grateful. How different would life be if we just practiced gratefulness? Every time we begin to speak about what we don’t have, change course and speak on what we do have. Would our perceptions and attitudes begin to change? Would we see the world around us differently? Would we approach our problems, our setbacks, our burdens in a different way?
Its said this life isn’t easy. That may seem truer now than ever before. We can see in real time the miseries around the world. We can see war torn places. We can see the anguish many have to endure. We can see those who are starving, those who are homeless, those who are dying. The evidence of how difficult life is and can be is right before us. How should that color our perception about our own lives?
A friend of mine joined me on a cruise sometime back. He was astounded by the utter luxury aboard the ship. He commented on the volume and variety of food that was everywhere you looked. I can only imagine what was behind his eyes as he saw all of this. Maybe the starving children in the town in Africa where he lived. Maybe the lack of resources back home, as compared to what he was seeing before him.
Life is really a whole lot about perception. I’m guilty as anyone else about not really taking stock of how blessed I truly am. I try to remind myself of how many blessings I enjoy. My mind drifts to an old hymn that pokes and prods me to remember and be grateful.
“When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings, money cannot buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.
Refrain
Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your blessings, see what God hath done;
Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.
When I really look at and count the many blessings of God, I marvel at how truly blessed I am. My health is good. I have friends and family who love me. I have a place to live that is safe and secure. I have employment that provides for all my needs and much more. Life really is pretty darn good. Maybe all I need when I start thinking about what I don’t have, or how some circumstance I’m going through seems a burden, is to just reflect on how much God has cared for and provided for me.
May God instill in each of us an attitude of gratitude, so we can truly understand how blessed we are. And once we perceive our many blessings, may God prod us and guide us to bless others.
Your companion on the Way,
Pastor Tom