Count Your Many blessings

A couple of nights ago a Facebook post from my sweet friend Ashley Sparks caught my attention. As I read it, her words resonated deep within my spirit. I've lived in third world countries and know just how very true it is that we are blessed beyond belief in this country. Yet even here in the USA there are mothers wondering how they will feed their children dinner tonight. If you've got that figured out, then count your blessings! 

Thank you, Ashley, for this poignant reminder!

Ashley Sparks

May 24 at 7:39 pm

I'm sitting here scrolling through Facebook and I see some friends who are very well off doing exciting things in exciting places that I may never get to do. My first thought is "Man, I wonder if they have any idea how good they have it. This is just the stuff of dreams to most people." 

And then I realize I am sitting here on my front porch, holding an iPhone. A home is the stuff of dreams to most people in the world. A smartphone is an extravagant expense to the vast majority of the global population.
*They probably wonder if I know how good I have it.*

I am listening to my children playing just inside the door, laughing and squealing. Motherhood is something many women dream of, but are unable to achieve even after years of fertility treatments or adoption heartbreaks. There are also many mothers who have had to tell their precious children goodbye far too soon.
*They probably wonder if I know how good I have it.*

I watch my loving, supportive husband pulling into the driveway after a day of gainful employment with benefits. We live in a nation where work is often hard to come by, and full-time jobs with insurance are a coveted commodity. Too many people are jumping from part-time gig to part time gig, praying that their hours aren't cut so that they don't have to choose between paying the rent and putting food on the table.
*They probably wonder if I know how good I have it.*

We are heading to have dinner at a restaurant with my mother-in-law who came into town to see preschool graduation and spend time with her grandchildren. Many parents would give anything for their parents and in-laws to be on this earth to see their grandchildren.
*They probably wonder if I know how good I have it.*

I am preparing for the summer, wondering how I will keep my kids on a good schedule with no school for a whole 68 days. Meanwhile, millions of mothers worldwide would give anything for their children to have access to school for even a few hours a week in a ramshackle building with no supplies.
*They probably wonder if I know how good I have it.*

Right now, somewhere, someone is desperately hoping and praying for the very things you take for granted. Take the old hymn to heart daily: Count your many blessings, see what God has done.