Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Blessed

When I wake up in the morning, I realize how blessed I really am. I have a wonderful family, a roof over my head, and a great church I am a part of. Blessings come in so many ways, the hard part is seeng the blessings as they are given to us, for sometimes we are too focused on the negative, on the what-might-be, rather than the blessings we have been showered with.

After God takes us - claims us - as his children, he then blesses us. The baptismal liturgy in our worship services ends with the entire congregation, the Body of Christ, welcoming the newly baptized into the family of God. This is our first blessing - we are part of God's family, God's body. We have brothers and sisters than span time and place, we are supported, loved, and cared for by people of all races and ages, we are blessed because we know that we will always be God's - no matter where we go or what we do, because God will never abandon his children.

Then the blessings keep coming. We are blessed with gifts that we can share with others. We are blessed with relationships. We are blessed with the opportunity to grow closer to this God who knows everything about us and loves us without fail. We are blessed, period.

What blessings have you been given in your life?

1 comment:

Betty Dygart said...

This morning I listened to the inspiring words of Senator Barack Obama. His Philadelphia speech, delivered yesterday, concerning recent devisive commentaries made by the retired pastor of his Chicago church is awe-inspiring and courageous.

I have hope for this country. I can see God's blessings in the words, actions and beliefs of this man. It is time. It is time to heal, to roll up our sleeves and work together to make this a truly great nation again.

We have many blessings, but in order to make those blessings equally available to all, we need to work at it. Somehow, we have to weed out corruption, greed and self-serving leaders, replacing them with leaders led by the spirit of Jesus. Obama, in my opinion, is such a man.

Obama referred to the Golden Rule in his speech. As elemental as this rule is, how seemingly impossible it is to get it right. Isn't that rule the very foundation of Christianity, of Christ's teachings?

I pray that God remains with us through this election year, is with Senator Obama and the other candidates, and that a force for good comes out of all the rhetoric.