Lent: Day Ten-S

Being down and out the past few days has given me the opportunity to be more thoughtful. Being tired and not very mentally energetic has meant that I have watched a little more television than is usual. You don’t have to think very much while watching television and if you drift in and out of sleep, so be it; you need the rest anyway to recuperate.

Well, I was ensconced in our love seat recliner with one dog (Border Terrier) on my right, our large dog (Akita) at my feet, and one of our two cats curled up in my lap, and I began to think how wonderful this all was. Each of these animals came to us as grace gifts from God and they all get along so nicely together as well as being very affectionate to me, my wife, and my daughter. It got me to thinking how blessed I am and how I seldom appreciate that fact the way I should.

Last night my daughter and I watched Law and Order: Criminal Intent together and we spent the entire show bantering back and forth about who we thought was guilty as the clues slowly unraveled before us. We had a very good time. It was another example of being blessed that I might not have thought about in the same way if I had not been sick and had the insight with the animals earlier in the day.

I think that God gives all of us a lot of wonderful blessings that slip by almost unnoticed, but I have decided after what I learned this weekend not to take them for granted any more. As a matter of fact, I will be actively looking for those moments of blissful existence just so I can thank God for them. I think God will like that; not because he needs my appreciation, he doesn’t, but because he knows it means I have taken another step down the road to becoming the vessel he is fashioning me to be.

In closing, I would like to invite you to join me in this ongoing appreciation exercise. After all, God has more than enough blessings to go around.

Grace and peace.