H
appy Thanksgiving!
If you've read my blog in the last year, you might remember that I've written quite a few times about counting your blessings. It's really surprised me how much this concept has been impressed on my mind the last few years.
So, the evening before Thanksgiving, I set aside a few minutes to count my blessings.
As has happened every time I've counted my blessings lately, I had a startling moment of realization, an epiphany. And I can promise that you will also have such a moment if you count your blessings.
After listing the obvious blessings that had been on my mind lately (which is what we all do to start out), I stumbled upon those flecks of gold; those small but extremely significant things that were not so obvious initially.
I realized that I had been given a wonderful gift and grace from the Lord this last year. I had been blessed with extremely high levels of positivity and optimism, almost to an unhealthy level! (Just kidding, sort of). As I reflected on this and dug a little deeper, I realized that this had happened because the Lord had guided my goal setting towards focusing on being more positive, and that He had then given me the gift of optimism.
And as I reflected on this even further and dug even deeper, I realized that one of the wonderful companion blessings that came along with this gift was a deep sense of hope, a realization that nothing is impossible with the Lord.
Throughout this year, because of this gift of optimism, I have become something entirely different that I thought I would become; something vastly different than what I had envisioned or set out to become, in a wonderful and surprising way. And I never would have thought I would have made such rapid and effective progress in my levels of optimism and positivity. It leaves me with a deep sense of awe and gratitude.
And as I saw this change that the Lord's graces brought about, it gave me great hope, and it cast out much darkness and despair. I learned that, no matter how daunting the task of change might seem, with the Lord's help, I could change and become better and improve.
This knowledge brings such wonderful hope! Nothing is impossible with the Lord.
This deep sense of hope is one of the wonderful additional blessings that come from receiving any of the Lord's graces. But I did not realize this until after I counted my blessings and put myself in a position to observe this.
Here is the actual blessing I counted:
These are the wonderful surprises that await us when we dedicate some simple time to count our blessings.
Whenever we receive any gift or grace from the Lord, we receive an additional blessing; hope! We receive the knowledge that we can overcome anything! No matter how weak we may seem or how impossible the task before us may appear, when we see the Lord's graces changing us, we see His power. We are able to see how easily we were able to overcome what at first seemed impossible. And if we can do this with one challenge, why not with any challenge, so long as the Lord is on our side? And that gives us great hope and optimism!
If you've read my blog in the last year, you might remember that I've written quite a few times about counting your blessings. It's really surprised me how much this concept has been impressed on my mind the last few years.
So, the evening before Thanksgiving, I set aside a few minutes to count my blessings.
As has happened every time I've counted my blessings lately, I had a startling moment of realization, an epiphany. And I can promise that you will also have such a moment if you count your blessings.
After listing the obvious blessings that had been on my mind lately (which is what we all do to start out), I stumbled upon those flecks of gold; those small but extremely significant things that were not so obvious initially.
I realized that I had been given a wonderful gift and grace from the Lord this last year. I had been blessed with extremely high levels of positivity and optimism, almost to an unhealthy level! (Just kidding, sort of). As I reflected on this and dug a little deeper, I realized that this had happened because the Lord had guided my goal setting towards focusing on being more positive, and that He had then given me the gift of optimism.
And as I reflected on this even further and dug even deeper, I realized that one of the wonderful companion blessings that came along with this gift was a deep sense of hope, a realization that nothing is impossible with the Lord.
Throughout this year, because of this gift of optimism, I have become something entirely different that I thought I would become; something vastly different than what I had envisioned or set out to become, in a wonderful and surprising way. And I never would have thought I would have made such rapid and effective progress in my levels of optimism and positivity. It leaves me with a deep sense of awe and gratitude.
And as I saw this change that the Lord's graces brought about, it gave me great hope, and it cast out much darkness and despair. I learned that, no matter how daunting the task of change might seem, with the Lord's help, I could change and become better and improve.
This knowledge brings such wonderful hope! Nothing is impossible with the Lord.
This deep sense of hope is one of the wonderful additional blessings that come from receiving any of the Lord's graces. But I did not realize this until after I counted my blessings and put myself in a position to observe this.
Here is the actual blessing I counted:
I'm grateful that I can improve through the Lord's help! I'm grateful for the hope that brings, and the darkness and despair that dispels. To know that, no matter how daunting it might seem to change (especially as you get older), you can know that, with the Lord's help, you can change and become better and improve, through grace. It becomes so clear to me the joy and hope and happiness that brings, and the darkness and despair that dispels!
These are the wonderful surprises that await us when we dedicate some simple time to count our blessings.
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