Counting Blessings by Konnie Enos

 

This past Thursday, with the words of the hymn “Count Your blessings” going through my mind, and knowing this post needed to be up the day before Thanksgiving. I decided to count mine. The Prophet Russel M. Neilson gave his talk about gratitude the next day.

Here is my list.

·         My legs. While I did break my back nearly 50 years ago, I didn’t damage my spinal cord and I still have full use of my legs.

·         My eyes. I do need glasses and right now cataracts are making seeing difficult, but I can still read and write.

·         My hands. Recently I’ve been spending a lot of time with numb fingers from carpal tunnel, but my hands still work and I can generally do what I need to, including typing.

·         My ears. I have tinnitus but it isn’t annoying and usually quiet enough that I can hear just fine.

·         My brain. At my age, my memory isn’t wonderful and my kids are always commenting on one more thing I seem to have forgotten. However, I can still think, imagine, create, even form opinions. I can also still remember most things.

·         My height. I might not be tall but I can still reach the bottom shelf of the cupboards and I have my step stool for those higher things. Plus, I have tall kids who are willing to help.

·         My children. All my children have Autism or ADD/ADHD or some combination thereof. Add in some bipolar and anxiety or PTSD and yes, my kids have been a handful, but I love them all and couldn’t imagine my world without them. I also totally adore, my son-in-law. He is the best father and most loving husband. Then there is my adorable granddaughter which we wouldn’t have if he hadn’t joined the family.

·         My husband. He is the sweetest, most loving man even if he is completely clueless about how irritating he can be. I would not be at all surprised to learn he, and his youngest sister, are on the spectrum. That might explain my kids.

·         My house. Yes, it is fifteen years old and desperately in need of some repairs. Appliances are a priority. Painting walls, replacing flooring, and curtains, even putting in much-needed screens can wait. The walls and doors are solid and the roof doesn’t leak.

·         My help. My youngest son and daughter are doing their best to help with all the chores including each taking a turn to cook dinner.

·         Our water heater. You don’t know what a convenience this is until you have a go a day or two without it. We were even blessed to be able to replace ours fairly quickly with only a little bit of headache.

·         Our A/C. In the desert, A/Cs are essential. Being without ours for a few days while the temps were still in the triple digits was not pleasant. Fortunately, it was quickly repaired.

·         Our car. I’m not fond of having such a high car payment, but at least the car runs well, we can get everywhere we need to be.

·         My clothes. I realize I don’t have much because it’s really, really difficult to find things that fit and are modest on my petite ball of a frame. So I’m grateful I can find somethings that do fit (Thank you, Woman Within). At least I don’t have my daughter’s problems. She is a petite bean pole, a skinny one, so it’s harder to find things that fit. She has fewer clothes than I do.

·         My shoes. I only wear shoes when I have to, but mine are in good shape and fit my small feet. (Yeah, children’s shoe department.)

·         My country. Right things are a mess and I’m not sure it will ever return to normal. We can still choose where to live, where to work, what to eat or wear, and what education to get and where to get it. We can still form our own opinions. This is still the land of the free.

·         My Lord and Savior, my faith. It’s the most important. Without God we are nothing. With him we are everything.

Whether or not you participated in his challenge, I’d like to challenge you to write up a list of the things you’re grateful for and post them. Respond here, post them on your social media, or just hang them up somewhere in your home where you can see them daily.

Also, while you are writing your list, remember Betsy ten Boom’s gratitude for fleas and lice. She could see how the pests were blessing them. So let us see the silver lining in all our circumstances.

Smile. Make the day a brighter day.