What To Do With All My Blessings

I have come to a conclusion: Gratitude is a huge antidote for much that ails us.

I could spend the rest of this post pointing out Bible verses that would back up that conclusion–but you can look them up. (If you don’t know any, use a Bible concordance and start with the words “thanks” or “praise”…you’ll come up with lots of verses; or just begin reading through the Psalms, in the middle of the Bible.).

In the past few days, I have struggled on several levels. These haven’t been the all-possessing kinds of struggles; they’ve been more of those nagging kinds that let you keep walking but keep you just enough off-balance that the least little thing has an impact.

For one thing, there is someone in my church who is struggling with newly diagnosed disease. My heart goes out to her and her husband and I ask “Why this one of Yours, Father?” She has been a good mom, a good wife, a good servant of yours, a caregiving nurse and helper to many. And, on top of that, today I am enjoying good health. That makes me feel guilty. Guilt can eat you up if you let it. So, for starters, I thank God for good health, I pray for my sister in God’s family, and I make a note that in this day, I should let her and her family know that I am praying. (I have become convinced that that is the second part of the effectiveness of our prayers–let people know you’re praying for them. It will be a HUGE encouragement. I know–we’ve been on the receiving end of lots of those messages since the October announcement that TUFW is closing and Michael’s job will be evaporating at the end of the school year.)

Another of those nagging struggles has been that all around me, people have been out of power since Friday due to the major ice storm we’ve had hereabouts. I have not been without electricity except for a few blinks when the wind gusted particularly fiercely. Thankfully, my friends gradually report that, as Victoria L. quips, they’re “seeing the light” and “feeling the heat”. But, I’ve felt guilty to not be suffering the hardship. I’ve offered encouraging words, checked on people who might need help, and prayed for the powerless and power restorers. And, I’ve been saying thank you to God…a lot. I also used the absence of loss of electricity as an opportunity to become better informed in the event that we do lose power for a long bit of time somewhere in the future. I’d hope not only to be able to help myself in that, but to be of help to others.

For some reason, Christmas shopping has been challenging this year, mainly because the creative juices haven’t been flowing. Nearly all the gifts purchased for under the tree and in the stockings have been rather run-of-the mill. Not that they haven’t been practical or useful or a good fit for the recipient’s bents and desires. They just haven’t been much in the category of those things that surprise and delight. Thus, facing the traffic and the cold that are out there for Christmas shoppers who do their work in the few days right before the holiday has seemed more to be a chore this year. Michael is finishing up the last of the little stuff shopping today and as he expressed the lack of desire for braving the cold and traffic, I was prompted to remind us both that we have much for which to be grateful: we don’t have any sons in Iraq; no loved one is in a critical care unit of a hospital; no ice is falling from the sky at the moment; our children are healthy and of bright minds…those were the things I told him as he walked out the door, but I could fill several posts with the list that goes on. Immediately after the outloud reminder to myself, I felt my heart lift a bit.

Gratitude–the attitude that has healing, soothing power beyond anything I realize.

(As I write this, I know that to the degree we are blessed, God expects us to turn that around to bless others. And for a Christ-follower, that means I need to be a doer as well as a thinker. And this is part of my struggle–sometimes the doing doesn’t seem very much. But, realizing that being thankful and being an encourager prompted by the Holy Spirit is part of “good works” that result from faith, too, has helped me.)

What have you learned to do with your blessings?