Count Your Many Blessings

 Have you ever had one of those thoughts that bursts into your head with no warning?  And you wonder where it came from? 

Yesterday I was dealing with some frustrations and handling them less well than I should have been.

All of a sudden I thought of my Grandpa Holderness and the thought came to me that I needed to be counting my blessings, not the problems in the situation.

He taught us to serve others, to set high goals and work hard, and to have fun and create a new tradition at every opportunity. 

He taught us to look for ways to reach out and help those in need, to never stop learning and that family should be cherished. 

He looked for the good and then worked hard to make it better, and followed Christ, finding joy even amidst the difficulties along the way.  

He was the kind of man who chose for the song "Count Your Many Blessings" to be played at his funeral.   

I pondered on the lyrics.  

"So amid the conflict, whether great or small,

Do not be discouraged, God is over all;

Count your many blessings, angels will attend,

Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end."

So I got up today and put on my "give thanks for everything" shirt in honor of his March 3rd birthday.  And I looked for the blessings. 

And an amazing thing happened.  The very same situations that brought so much frustration yesterday brought elements of joy today.  

The challenges are still there.  We will still have difficulties and tragedies and afflictions.  

But God is aware.  

And angels will attend.  

We will be helped and comforted. 

So I choose to look for the good that is in my life, no matter how small it may seem.   

Because I want to be the kind of person who picks  "Count Your Many Blessings" for my funeral too.  And I suppose that starts with looking at the blessings around me today.