Blessings

Ezekial 34:26 says, "I will bless them and the places surrounding my hill. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing."

The question is, what will we do with these blessings.

Often times we are is such a big hurry, getting from one place to another, that we completely miss the blessing. Or maybe we find it to be an inconvenience or a bother. Did you feel the blessing of the cooler weather or the hug of a small child on a busy morning.

Perhaps more often, we turn the blessing into a responsibility or a job. I have been blessed with many things in my life, however, when I turn them in to responsibilities they feel more like burdens. I love my second job. It has been such a huge blessing. It has given me a reason to get out of the house while doing something constructive. I have met some amazing people and it has given me a resource that I enjoy using to help others. The problem is that I have stopped seeing the blessings and started looking at the responsibilities that can be overwhelming at times. There is dusting to do, windows to clean, floors to vaccuum, shelves to stock. The fourteen hour days are hard when I forget to look at the blessings and just at the work..

There is nothing I love more than my kids and grandbabies, but when I would forget to look at the blessings, the job of being the sole bread winner, the disciplinarian, the tutor, the maid and all the other jobs that go in to raising children, it would be overwhelming. On those days, God would remind me through a word or deed, just how much the kids added to my list of blessings.

I have served on numerous civic and church boards. Many have been directly related to improving the lives of children. The others have been Church or Single Adult Ministry realted. All three of these areas are very dear to my heart. The problem is that in the process of making decisions for the organization, at times the ones being served are forgotten. At that point, it just becomes another chore that we have to do, another meeting that we have to attend. We lose the blessing in the business of being busy.

Then there is the task of allowing others to bless us. I think especially for single adults, we tend to be so independent that we often don't ask or accept the help that we need. We get so caught up in not being a burden to others that we miss the blessing of friendship. I had a friend tell me once that when I didn't let her help me, that I robbed her of a blessing. That has changed the way I offer help and also the way I receive help.

I hope that as the holiday season approaches, that we will look at the blessings around us. If we don't get to caught up in the shopping and cooking and list of events, we will also see the showers of blessing.