The unseen blessings...

Sometimes, we have a preconceived idea of what a blessing should look like. We think it should be so evident that it nearly slaps us in the face. It should come as a call from our bank saying "oops, we made a mistake and we are depositing 100.00 in your account today." It should look like a car accident that happened where everyone got out of it alive and unscathed. The friend that dropped by right when you thought you could not go one more minute without crying. "Come on, I am going to take you to lunch" and you smile. These are all blessings that at the end of the day, we give thanks to our Father in heaven for them.
But what happens to the unseen blessings? The ones we do not acknowledge at the end of our day. The ones that are there but get covered up by events of the day. It is very often the ones that come gentle or quietly that are the greatest. When we wake in the morning... that IS a blessing. Though we may face adversaries through-out or day, things that make the blessing not so visible, they are still there. The fact that you fought through your entire day should not cover the fact that you DID make it through the day. It is true that had you not woken that morning, you would not have had to deal with any bad issues that came up. Because the truth is, you would not have dealt with them because you would NOT be. You made it and now can lay your head on a pillow. Hmmmmmmmmmm??? You DO have a pillow to lay on. How many times do we count the little things we have because we JUST expect them to be there or happen.
There are so many that do Not have a place to lay their head down So many that do not have food to scrape off into the garbage because they didn't really like it or because they took too much on their second pass at the dinner spread. The unremembered smile of a passerby, the car we never saw coming that missed hitting us. What about the accident I talked about. Maybe this one someone did get hurt but, they lived through it. I know you know most of this. I think sometimes though we need to be reminded to look. It isn't about More blessings to be thankful for. It is about being thankful for the blessings we already have received. That bank mistake that had we had the money in hand before, we would not have had it right when we needed it most.
Blessings don't always jump out at us. They don't always take the form of bells and singing and angels all around us. Sometimes they are quiet and we don't see them until someone points them out to us. We need to see the butterfly, feel the gentle breeze, remember the kind smile of a face we didn't even know.
In closing I will pass on to you a story. My Sheila was always my prayers. I prayed so hard for her to blessed. I asked God nightly to give back to her her health and her legs.I told her so one night as we laid talking. I was angry that God had not heard our prayers. Where were her blessings!!!??? She then, in the beauty that was so very much her, touched my face. She smiled her smile and said this to me. Words that changed my life forever.
"Baby, every time I wake and see your face, I am blessed. Every birthday I celebrate, I celebrate it as a beautiful blessing. When I hear our girls laughing and playing, I know how much I am blessed."
I said, "But Love, you have lost the use of your legs over and over. You have laid in hospital beds for so long. Where is that a blessing?"
"And each time I have, you have held me and sat with me. You have sung songs to me and read 4 books while I was busy being in a coma. Our daughters have walked with us through hell and back and still they are strong and love us totally. As for my legs... I once prayed for God to allow me to raise my children and to be a wife and friend to you. I didn't ask him to heal me totally. If I had, he would have. But he gave to me exactly what I asked of him. You need to see the blessings that are inside sometimes, Love. He answered my prayer just as I ask him to do. You may not always see it because you see me having trouble getting around, but trust me, he has been good to me."
That is what blessings are about. Knowing they are there even if we fail to see them. Hugsss and blessings to you all. Darrel