I suspect we’re all beginning to think about Thanksgiving, planning guests and menus…time to spend with family, fun and games… yet knowing we each have so much to be thankful for… every new day. But, if you’re anything like me, some of those blessings tend to be taken for granted… some things are just such an “every-day” part of our life, we forget to stand in awe of how special they really are. Being in contact with those less fortunate than we are, my heart goes out to them while seeking God’s guidance on how best to meet those needs. God gives us these opportunities to share from the bounty He’s provided us.  And may you be richly blessed this Thanksgiving in so many ways! 

Blessings... those gifts given with no expectation of payback.  They arrive unexpectedly from many sources… from our dear family and friends, from strangers we pass on our daily path, from a special moment in time, and all from our God above.  Blessings convey love from the sender.  They invoke inspiration as we face nature’s finest moments of grandeur.  Given by our Creator God, blessings take our breath away as we pause in awe.

Blessings come in the simple form of a thankful heart when we’ve given to meet someone else’s need without expecting a reward…

Blessings come within the deep sense of pleasure for that special little something done as a random anonymous act of kindness and generosity to cheer another soul on their journey of life… 

Blessings come specific to each person… for we are each created unique.  My blessings are different from yours, and yours are different from those who you know.  When we truly stop to think about it, we realize that all of life is a blessing.  I remember the old hymn from my childhood, “Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your blessings, see what God hath done…”  But, in reality, I cannot even begin to count all my blessings nor to comprehend their great number.  And that’s the key – understanding that all of life, from this entire world and universe down to our little life in and of itself, is a blessing in every way imaginable from our great and awesome God!

Blessings come with prayer and a thankful heart as we receive them from God.  He, as creator of this universe and each of us within it, owes us nothing.  Yet, He loved us so much, despite our disobedient ungrateful hearts, that “[He] shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) We owe Him everything… every ounce of praise from our thankful heart… for from Him, we have life, even the air we breathe, and so much more which we take for granted every day… and from Him, we have our precious gift of eternal salvation that nothing can destroy.

And when we see our life and the world around us that way, we truly see our blessings with a grateful heart… ready to offer praise with thanksgiving to God for such awesome gifts in even the simplest of treasures.  May you be blessed, today and always!!

Blessings

Linda A. Roorda 

Like dawn awaking to a gentle rain

Are blessings showered upon our lives

From seemingly small to greatest of all

They are the simple, and yet not trivial.

We take a breath with no thought to the gift

Each second, each minute of every new day

Yet it’s a blessing we take for granted

With nary a thought as to the Giver.

From dawn to dusk the sun bathes our world

As our eyes behold the beauty around us

With its warming glow is our life enhanced

While we think naught from whence it came.

A whispered word of gentle praise

And loving concern expressed with feeling

Abilities shared with ease of talent

These, too, are blessings which touch deep the soul.

An act of kindness, random or thoughtful

Given from the heart is but a reflection,

An image of grace like that received

And bestowed in mercy by our Lord above.

Love from the heart, in tenderest form

Treasures each life we meet on our path,

To bless another aside from our wants

Enriches us both as God leads our way.

~