Gratitude

The world is full of terrible illnesses.  Ebola, Malaria, Entero viruses, and the list goes on.  There are plenty of infections that have no test and no cure, yet still cause devastation.  Yet, my family and I are healthy.

I realize that this health does not come from vitamins, or healthy eating, or good genetics.  It does not come because we are special, or more valuable than people who are suffering in West Africa.  It is simply that we are blessed.

The world is full of poverty.  There are many who struggle to find food for their children and who make their homes in little, stolen spaces on the edge of dumps or, in wastelands.  Yet, my family and I have more than enough and my children have never known hunger.

I realize that this plenty does not come because of hard work, or intelligence, or amazing skill.  It does not come to me because I am special or work more than the many who struggle to find nourishment.  It is simply that I am blessed.

There are so many other ways in which I am blessed.  I cannot count them all.  It is awfully easy for me to fall into the mind set where I believe that I deserve the very things which are gifts from God, to believe that God has blessed me because I am special.

I have read elsewhere that Christians should not say that they are blessed when they are referring to material blessings.  But God blesses in many ways, some of them material and some intangible, but the most important thing is never to forget that all of these things are undeserved gifts.

When a gift becomes an expectation, gratitude leaves.

God has given me much and for it, I am grateful.  Perhaps the best way to show my gratitude is to share my blessings with others.