April 9, 2011

"COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS AND BE GRATEFUL!"

Sometimes life can become extremely stressful, and it can become very easy to focus on the negative aspects of our lives than on our blessings. This past year has taught my family that life itself is a blessing, and we have learned that we need to be grateful every day of our lives. My husband has taught me that everything we receive in life is a gift. We can go through life miserable, sad, and depressed which I did for many years, or we can learn to be happy and enjoy each of our days. It may be difficult to count our blessings each day, but I can guarantee you that you have at least one thing everyday that you can be grateful for.

I used to have a friend on facebook who was a miserable person, and he was determined to make all his online friends as miserable as he was. Every post he put on his wall was negative, gloomy, and downright depressing. Everyday I found myself trying to pull this guy out of his doldrums. I would explain to him that if he was breathing, and if he had his health, that he had so much to be grateful for. He would reply with a, "Yeah, right!" I would try to explain to him how my husband was diagnosed with cancer, and he never once complained about anything that he had to go through whether it be chemotherapy or radiation treatments or his major surgery. There was nothing I could say that would change this online friend's point of view. I suddenly realized that he did not want to change his way of thinking. He was getting people's pity, and this is what he wanted. He wanted people to feel sorry for him because of his recent divorce. He did not want to see any blessings even though he had many blessings right in front of him face which were his three healthy children, but he did not want to hear anything anyone had to say. Unfortunately, I eventually had to delete this man from my profile. His negativity was bringing me down, and I could not deal with his depression while trying to help my husband heal from a life-threatening illness.

If you wake up in the morning, you have something to be grateful for, and you are truly blessed! If you sat down and counted your blessings, you might be surprised at how many blessings you have been given each day. If you live in the United States of America, that is a huge blessing, because you are living in one of the best countries in the world. If you have a roof over your head, otherwise known as a home, you are blessed. If you have food in your refrigerator and fresh water to drink, you are blessed. If you have clothing to wear, you are blessed. My list could go on all night, but I think you get the picture. You might not live in your dream house or might not drive the car you really want, but if you have your health and people in your life who love you for who you are, you are truly blessed. Count your blessings everyday and be grateful for what God has already blessed you with!