An "oldie" post that I always feel is timely, because it is so easy to think about what we have to be grateful for rather than what we escaped from or what never came to be that was actually a far better blessing.
So this Thanksgiving, I want to remember to thank God for the times He has spared me what could have been tragic news; for the illnesses that I didn't have, the financial ruin that did not come my way, the losses I have not experienced. I am grateful I have not lost a loved one in combat or a child before they were born.Thank you for the times you allowed me to avoid the accidents that could have happened, the mistakes that could have cost me more than I realized, the train wrecks that might have been. I am blessed to have avoided many catastrophes by the protection of an Almighty God.
I am so very thankful that I do not know hunger or homelessness. Things so easily had by many; unemployment, chronic illnesses, tragic events, separation from loved ones because of war or other circumstances; all of these I was spared. I am blessed that I do not have to wash in a public shelter, scavenge through garbage for my next meal or sleep under an overpass. You have kept famine, torture and violence from my daily routines. Yes, I am so grateful for the things that might have been; but for the grace of God.
How about you? Can you offer a thanks for what you do not have to deal with or what you were spared? Can you discover your passion or your fire in what you were blessed not to have had to deal with?
It is not what you have that is always the blessing but perhaps what you have avoided.
this leaves me feeling strangely like if i've experienced the things you've been 'blessed' to avoid, i'm somehow not so blessed...i don't like that...
ReplyDeleteLinda,
DeleteYou're only as blessed as you feel. I feel very blessed. You might feel the same despite what you have experienced. Just saying...
While I do get where you are coming from, Kathy. I've tried this before and it left me feeling guilty for what I had while others didn't. Right now, I focus on giving thanks for the abundance I have and am secure in the knowledge that I will continue to enjoy abundance.
ReplyDeleteI think we all approach what makes us grateful in different ways,Corinne. Regardless, I know most of us are so very blessed we barely can count them all.
DeleteHave a wonderful week and thanks for stopping by.
Kathy: I do feel very blessed. But, not by comparing myself to others who have less than me or who've had worse things happen to them than I have. Just sayin, too...;-)
ReplyDeleteI knew you felt blessed, Linda. No comparisons just observations of how much I might take for granted.
DeleteGo have another blessed day :>) Thanks for replying. I always enjoy your thoughts.
Kathy, this is a marvelous twist on being thankful. You really made my own blessings double and triple from reading this. I realize how fortunate I am . . .
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving and may your blessings continue to abound!
Martha, Thank you for taking the time to comment and offer such sweet words. We are all more blessed than we ever realize. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with blessing to carry-over every day.
DeleteI got chills when I read this. What a powerful message. I'm going to make a different kind of gratitude list today. Reading this was really an AHA moment for me. As you replied to Linda above, I didn't read this to mean that I should be thankful by comparing myself to others, but rather to be thankful for the things I might take for granted. Thank you so much.
ReplyDeleteGalen, you are most welcome and thank you for the wonderful comments. I know we all have easily overlooked all the blessings we take for granted daily. Wishing you and your family an amazing blessed day tomorrow and always.
DeleteAaaah, taking things for granted. Just listened to Andy Stanley's message today and one of the things he pointed out that we take for granted is that we work 5 days a week but have food and shelter 7 days a week. I never thought about it this way. It is true that many of the things we take for granted should be counted as blessings, not because others don't have them but because we should recognize and give thanks for the abundance in our lives while continuing to share with and empower others.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for replying, Lynne. How true that we just take so many things for granted. I truly have recognized the more we have the more we want and then I think we get callous feeling we should get more of what we "deserve" never thinking we already have way more than we deserve. I know I need to be more aware of what I just have grown to expect I should have.
DeleteLove your thoughts.