As a child, I am not sure I fully realized the power of the phrase, “Count your blessings”.  In the back of my mind, I recall hearing that phrase being used by many adults.  I now find myself encouraging my children to realize all the blessings around us.  There is a lot going on in this world, I choose to focus on the blessings. 

I think about the positive things going on around me.  When I start with an attitude of appreciation I find that I have a better perspective on life’s challenging issues.  When I ignore all the wonderful aspects of life and concentrate on the issues, the blessings seem to vanish. 

The size of the blessing does not matter.  When I look for joy I remind myself of all the beauty in this world.  I start by giving thanks for all that is going right.  Sometimes it is as crazy as being grateful for my lawnmower cutting through the grass that I have neglected.  When I am open to being thankful for things that seem small my attitude and perspective allow me to experience more blessings.   

Often times loss of a job is devastating.  The economic and emotional side of job loss is paralyzing.  But I always look at the loss of a job as an opportunity for advancement and to learn something new.  My job changes (forced or by choice) all have been blessings that led me to the next opportunity. 

When I feel myself getting bogged down in negativity, I immediately change my attitude.  I refuse to dwell on the negative side of the issue.  I problem-solve and resolve the issue or move on concentrating on the blessings.  I find it unproductive to be weighted down by stress and a doom-and-gloom attitude.  I give those worries to God and pray for a solution.

When the fog is so thick that I am unable to see the many blessings in my life I focus on others.  For me, serving others always puts things into perspective.  As I experience the joy of being helpful to others the many blessings in my life become more visible. 

Change is constant.  As we experience change in this world and everything we love I challenge one to remember the blessings.  When it is difficult to see the “good” around me I always know that my greatest blessing is having Jesus at the center of my life. 

Today my girls turn 16 years old.  We have had some rough times, but because of all the blessings, I don’t recall any of the details regarding the challenges.  When I think of all the blessings they have brought to our family I can’t help but smile and be grateful to God for the abundant blessings in my life.

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