Count Your Blessings

During a men's group meeting, one of the men said something that truly stuck with me. "Count your blessings, don't knock on wood."

We worry about the future in light of the many blessings we've received in the past. We knock on wood to try to hold off any future disasters. Have you breathed today? That's a blessing. Can you still see light, feel with your hands, hear with your ears, smell the air around you? That's a blessing. Has it been raining nonstop for multiple days? The rain, in abundance and scarcity, is a blessing. Has it been sunny and dry for as long as you can remember? The sunlight and heat keeping our planet from being a ball of ice is a blessing. Is the wind so heavy you think the trees are all going to be uprooted? The wind, in calm and tempest, keeps our air circulated and helps keep the weather system running, and is a blessing. Things may not be working as they should because of sin, but God has not let them stop working altogether. Each day is a blessing.

Each day is a blessing where we can share our blessings with others. We can share the Good News, we can share our physical goods, we can share our presence, we can share our time. We are blessed and can, and should, be a blessing to others. It's hard, don't get me wrong. It's hard for hardworking parents who haven't slept well in four years and the busy single folk running from their job to the store and back home. It's hard for the antisocial retired couples and even the most social, open-scheduled people in the world. Being a blessing to others isn't always a passive thing. But there isn't much in the Christian life that is passive. So, when the challenge comes to be a blessing to others, we shouldn't just give up because we're tired, nervous, too busy, or just not in the mood. You never know how far your small gestures can go.

That's a challenge for all of us. You, me, pastors, teachers, children, everyone. A challenge to count our blessings instead of knocking on wood, and then to see where God's leading us to be a blessing to others.