When I’m worried and I can’t sleep
I count my blessings instead of sheep
And I fall asleep counting my blessings
When my bankroll is getting small
I think of when I had none at all
And I fall asleep counting my blessings

Count Your Blessings from White Christmas

I love this song. The first time I heard it, I was watching Bing Crosby serenade Rosemary Clooney  in front of a plate of sandwiches and glasses of buttermilk. (How romantic is that?) The movie has always been a favorite, but this song hit my heart as I grew up.

When you are young the dreams you have for your future are bright and hopeful but the older you get the harder life becomes. People who were staples in your life pass away, you and your spouse lose everything except your life, and you fall into emotional distress. You cry out to God for some crack in the ceiling to let in the light and pray it comes quickly.

In that time, God showed me what a beautiful life I really had. Three healthy children, a husband that loved me, parents that were there for us in our desperate times, and church family that spiritually guided us through these dire times. When things looked bleak and we didn’t know where we would live, God sent some old friends of ours to help provide a roof over our heads. Five years after hitting rock bottom, we can finally see the light and it’s a bright one at that.

As my husband and I prepared for Thanksgiving dinner, we discussed how far we have come in our sixteen years of marriage. We agreed that we are in the best place in our life together and couldn’t think of anything we would change. We have learned from our mistakes and are more in love with each other than before. Now we just need to teach these lessons to our children.

What was that lesson? Obedience.

We committed our money, jobs, marriage, children, and talents to Christ like Christians are instructed to do. We do not do a thing without taking it to God first. We are not quick to jump on something and instead we pray about it. Some things are really easy for us to do as He asks of us, but there are things that are rather hard. Like accepting a gift that someone want to bless us with. (Seems simple but it is hard for us to do. That’s called pride.)

The Word of God gives us simple instructions on the matter, yet many hide from it.

If you are willing and obediant, you will eat the good things of the land. Isaiah 1:19

 

If they serve Him obediantly, they will end their days in prosperity and their years in happiness. Job 36:11

Now this isn’t a lesson on obedience, but a testimony as to how our choice to be obedient in all things, I can count my blessings each day. God gives me a gift each day and when I lose sight of those blessings, He does something to open my eyes again to all I have.

So as you go through this holiday season, count your blessings instead of dwelling on all you have lost or no longer have. The fact that you are taking a breath at this second is a blessing in itself.