As I contemplate the coming new year, I am reminded to review the happenings of the past year. The words of an old hymn come to mind…
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God has done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.*
Our culture grows increasingly more and more ungrateful. If we are not careful, we, too, will live always wanting more. We will live and not be thankful for what we do have.
We are discontent because we have never discovered how to be content! Don’t miss this: more means “not enough.”
Perspective
I am reminded of a homeless man that hangs out at my business (I got tired of running him off for panhandling so I “hired” him. He picks up the trash in the parking lot to “earn” his keep). I asked him what he’d like for Christmas, he replied “coal…” I know him well enough to know he wasn’t being funny. He explained, “I am stocking up to keep warm this winter.” Perspective.
I went to Sam’s Club and bought the “double bag” of charcoal. Merry Christmas, right? “How long will this last you?” I said, thinking how benevolent this must be…
“Several days,” he said smiling. He was happy and serious. “Thank you,” he went back to work picking up trash in the parking lot, the double bag of charcoal sitting in his shopping cart.
Count your blessings, name them one by one …Perspective.
No one is guaranteed a long life. No one is guaranteed a happy life. No one is guaranteed much life at all. I’d challenge you to make a list of the little things. Does your heart grow thankful? These little things are the often-ignored blessings. Health, family, a roof over your head, indoor plubming, HVAC, a car that runs, a cup of coffee, a sunrise, etc. You get the picture, it could be your child’s laughter while they are sleeping (we have a daughter who does this), a get-well soon note from your seven year old or a hug from your teenage child (who’s not into giving hugs!). So simple, yet, so often over-looked. What blessings of life are you overlooking?
How much life can we expect? the Psalmist writes…
“The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span is but toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away” Psalm 90:10
Count your blessings, see what God has done. Did you ask for something more than coal for last year? Did you receive it? I challenge you to make a list of your blessings, before you make a list of your resolutions!
*Johnson, Oatman Jr., in Songs for Young People, by Edwin Excell (Chicago, Illinois: 1897