It was of a little boy and his mother sitting at a huge table FULL of yummy looking dishes.(Must have been Thanksgiving)
The mother told her son to say thanks before they ate, and the little boy replied..."But, what do I have to be thankful for?
This really got me thinking, in today's society we get so caught up in having the next and biggest and best things, that we begin to overlook the simple things in our life that we take for granted.
We want that newest fastest phone with the 4G, we want that fully loaded tricked out sports car, we want that expensive necklace with all the diamonds, and when we can't afford it we act like 3 year olds with our lips pouched out and pout because we don't get what we want.... well boo hoo, pity you!
We have it so good.
I bet when you are hungry, you have food to eat.
I bet when you walk outside you have a shirt on your back and shoes on your feet.
I bet you have some type of transportation to get you from point A to point B.
And since you are reading this blog post right now, I bet you have access to the internet.
We need to sit down and have a serious reality check.
If you're only goal in life is to have the best material possessions then you aren't going to have a very fulfilling life.
Now don't get me wrong, is having material things wrong? No. If you work hard and can afford nice things, then more power to you to buy those luxuries, but don't let it consume you. Just because your neighbor has something...doesn't automatically mean you have to have it too.
Instead of being so absorbed in the physical and material blessings, why don't you take the time and count all the blessing you have money can't buy. I once heard a saying that went something like this:
"Money can buy a house, but not a home.
Money can buy a bed, but not sleep.
Money can buy a clock, but not time.
Money can buy a book, but not knowledge.
Money can buy food, but not an appetite.
Money can buy position, but not respect.
Money can buy blood, but not life.
Money can buy insurance, but not safety."
You see, just because you are reading this I can most likely assume that you are alive and breathing, you can see, and you have the ability to read and comprehend. Which all that put to together makes you pretty blesseed.
Do you have friends you can depend on?
Do you have family that loves you?
Do you have a job?
Do you have food to eat and water to drink?
Do you have a roof over your head?
Can you see, hear, smell, or touch? ..... If you answered yes to any of those, then you are blessed.
God also gives us with certain gifts and talents.
Can you sing?
Can you dance?
Are you an encouragment?
Can you make people laugh?
Can you teach?
Can you write?
Can you sympathize with people? (Sometimes God allows bad thing to happen in our life so when some else comes in our life going through the same problems, we can sympathize with them and help them move past it.)
Can you organize and plan?
Can you play and instrument? .....If you answered yes to and of those, then guess what! You are blessed.
Need I continue?
There is a hymn that goes like this,
"Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your blessings see what God has done."
But what if all you seem to be able to do is count things that aren't blessings? What if nothing seems to be going right and life just has you down in the dumps?
If that's the case I'll challenge you with what my Pastor challenged us to do not too long ago.
Grab a piece of paper and make two columns. In the first column write down everything you consider to be wrong in your life and in the second column write down ALL you blessings.
You're second column should have way more than your first and if it doesn't you might want to reconsider what a blessing is.
And to be honest, some of the things you wrote down in column one could possibly be blessings in disguise.
Who is to say that you car breaking down didn't keep you from going some where and wrecking?
Who is to say you boy friend dumping you didn't keep you from being involved in an abusive relationship?
Who is to say you didn't get that job you really wanted because God had something better in store for you?
Who is to say God didn't allow something horrible and scary to happen to you or someone you love because He knew you would be able to use it to bring others to Him?
Who is to say that all bad things are completely bad? Sometimes blessings come in odd and, quite frankly, frustrating packages.
I love the Song by Laura Story called "Blessings". The chorus is so beautiful and has such a clear and true message. It says"
"What if your blessing come through rain drops. What if your healing comes through tears. What if a thousand sleepless night are what if take o know You're neat. What if trails of this life, are Your mercies in disguise."
And on another note.... if you have accepted Christ's free gift of slvation....you have the biggest blessing that one could ever have bestowed on them.
Because unlike the material blessings, salvation is not one you can work for and it is not one money can buy.
But it is the most expensive because the price was the Son of God's LIFE. For you to obtain this blessing He was beaten, bruised, whipped, mocked, teased, and crucified.
But...He rose again conquering death and the grave, giving us the most magnificent blessing imaginable and we don't even deserve it.
So the next time Satan gets you down and depressed and feeds you the lies of this world that all blessings are material and cost money. You remind him of all the blessings you have that money can't buy and remind him that you have accepted the best blessing out there, life in Heaven for all eternity. A blessing he gave up a long time ago because of his pride.
Remember you are blessed beyond meassure in your own way. Don't compare the material blessings God has given you to the material blessings He gave someone else. Don't compare the talents and gifts He has blessed you with to the talents and gifts He has blessed someone else with.
You are you and God has a plan and purpose for your life with the specific blessings He has chosen to give you at this time.
Blessings sometimes show up in unrecognizable disguises.
The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.
May we be strengthened with the understanding that being blessed does
not mean that we shall always be spared all the disappointments and
difficulties of life.
Seize the blessings of today.
Those blessings are sweetest that are won with prayer and worn with thanks.
Sometimes we focus so much on what we don't have that we fail to see, appreciate, and use what we do have.
God bless us, every one.
Live...Laugh...Love
Until Next Time,
Racheal <3
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