Blessings

     What are blessings?  According to Dictionary.com, two of the definitions of blessing are, "a special favor, mercy, or benefit," and, "a favor or gift bestowed by God, thereby bringing happiness."  If asked to name something recent that you count as a blessing, it is likely that you would choose something that came as a welcome surprise or a great relief.  We like to think of blessings and positive occurrances, provided by God's providence.  This way of seeing blessings is entirely valid and true.

     But I would like to submit that we are more blessed than we often recognize, and in ways we would never think to count as blessings.   Admittedly there are an infinite amount of positive things about our lives that we could account for as blessings, and we should take such an account often.  However, it is not only the positive things that are blessings.

     In my life thus far I have had to face difficulties of many kinds.  Possessions have been taken from me and from my child.  Peace of mind and safety have been stolen from my family.  Physical ailments ranging from mild to frightening have struck my loved ones, and I myself have struggled with debilitating pain.  However, in each situation, I have learned the wisdom of God's word.  When Paul wrote, "For when I am weak, then I am strong," (2 Cor. 12:10) he was not referring to learning to bear up under his physical infirmities, to endure and rise above them.  Rather, God told him, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness."

     It is not our ability to survive these challenges in life that makes us stronger, but the fact that God helps us through them.  Each and every time something unpleasant, frightening, painful, or unhappy occurs, it is a chance to see it as a blessing.  We know that God is there with us, that He will care for us, and that all will be well in a little while, even if that "little while" is longer than we would have chosen for ourselves.  Even in the darkest times, there are things to be thankful for, from little to big.  Even when I am slow and creaky going up the stairs, I can rejoice that I am doing so rather than sitting down.  When I am needing to stay sitting down, I rejoice that I have a son who looks after me with love.  God gives us so very many blessings, and we owe it to Him to recognize them, even when unpleasant or unwelcome.  Let us give Him the glory He deserves by acknowledging the wisdom through which we are provided for.