Count Your Blessings

It’s funny how when things are hard we seem to be keenly aware of the bad things happening to us, but we ignore the everyday blessings. Well I guess I can’t speak for all of you, but I definitely complain (whether it be internal or external) when I don’t like something in my life or when I feel like something isn’t fair… etc. However, I tend to take the good things in life for granted. I usually sort of assume that I “deserve” that things should go well in my life, and if they don’t then that is what I dwell on.

Recently though, the Lord has made me especially aware of the blessings. If you look at my life its ridiculous that I have ever complained about anything because I have been so blessed, but in the past few months I have literally felt overwhelmed by God’s outpouring of love on me through other people. First and foremost, I have felt so thankful for my family. I have the most supportive family. My parents love me more than I could have ever hoped to be loved by anyone and clearly demonstrate God’s unconditional love for me. Since living in Greensboro I’ve been even more aware of this. I go way too long without calling them and haven’t been home to see them a single time even though they are only 30 minutes away, but they love me just the same. I am so thankful for you mom and dad, I’m sorry that I don’t tell you enough.

I have also been blessed by being the recipient of generosity of people around me this year. The financial support that people have given to me to make it possible for me to be a part of the fellows has completely blown me away. I have been brought to tears by the overwhelming generosity that people have shown toward me on multiple occasions. The Lord timed receiving those gifts right in the midst of being stressed about finances as a beautiful reminder that He is sovereign and in control. People have also been generous to me relationally and with their time. This struck me a few weeks ago over my birthday weekend. I was so touched by everyone who went out of their way to make me feel loved.

The internship that I have for the Fellows program this year is another blessing straight from God. The Lord divinely orchestrated my resume getting into the right hands at the right time… I literally did not even apply nor did anyone apply on my behalf… and I am working at an amazing office that I love. It is a dramatically different work environment from medical positions that I have had in the past, and it has been really cool to realize that I had nothing to do with getting this job at all. Honestly I probably would not have picked this office because I wanted to diversify my work experience from something other than Orthopedics, but clearly the Lord had other plans in mind and I am reaping the benefits of having my own efforts to find a position fail.

These are just a few general examples, but the list could go one forever. The bottom line is that these types of blessings are not new in my life. They have all been there in different capacities; I just was not choosing to be aware of them. So like the old adage says, “count your blessings”… it can transform the way you experience everyday life.