How wonderful, how beautiful, how crazy and mysterious... God's blessings. They hold so much, speak so much, they are so deep and full of meaning.
God's blessings are something I am pondering on today. I am in awe, and wonder. I am peaceful and happy as I think about each blessing he has ever shown me.
I feel as if I could write a million pages on this subject.
I think all of us can admit we take the blessings of this life for granted. The sun, the sky, the rain, the air we breathe. The beauty around us, each leaf on each tree, alone amazing but together creating a beautiful picture and the world we live in. How many things do we pass by each day that we forget improves our quality of life?
How about our bodies? Our hands and fingers, the ability to speak and understand one another. The ability to work and fight and live. The ability to walk and run and love. The ability to think and create.
We worry so much about so many little things. If we step back and look at all of these HUGE things that we are forgetting about, we will see how small our problems really are. I have never had to worry about having enough air to breathe, or worry about my legs not being able to carry me to work tomorrow. These are big things that we do not think about.
But God doesn't just bless us in big ways that we don't think about. God blesses us in big ways we DO think about too. He blesses us with children, the beautiful miracle of life that most people do not take for granted. How precious of a moment; when you see a child just born looking into the loving face of his parents. God blesses us with friendship; brings us together and gives us opportunities and wisdom through one another. God blesses us with family, and with love. Everyone in this life will experience love in some shape or form. Our God is the creator of love, He IS love. How amazing is that to think about?
And the biggest moment, when God gave his only son to die in our place, to cover the depth and disgust of all of our sins. To make us clean! This blessing is one of the most adored blessings in our lives. The biggest and the most amazing, and most undeserved.
I love this.
God blesses us in ways we take for grantedGod blesses us in ways we don't think about
God blesses us in ways we do think about and appreciate.
It doesn't stop there. There is more!
Gods blessings don't stop at the big things in life, creation and the world. They don't stop at the adored things in life, children and family and love. They keep going. Gods blessings reach down to the smallest and tiniest parts of our lives. They touch every worry, every fear, and every silly thought inside us.
God cares for the birds of the air and the creatures of the sea. How much more will he care for us? God listens to our prayers, we cry out to him in times of need, and smile up at him in times of peace. God hears us, sees us, keeps his hand near. He changes little things here and there to keep us on a straight path. He protects us from things we don't see as dangers. He shows us the way, leads us by light. He takes our every thought to his heart, and He never gets bored or annoyed at our silly childish worries and lives. He truly is the best father, giving and giving, guiding, and never forsaking us or growing impatient.
God is so good.
These last few years, I have seen and touched and felt so many wonderful blessed moments. Looking back on my life, I see so many moments when God led me out of something dangerous, and put me on the right path. In those moments, I was blind and did not see the danger or the fear. God did. He found me.
Then I was ready to move on on my own, a single young adult, I had dedicated my life to the Lord after He found me lost and confused. He helped me find who I was, and helped me love myself, and become confident in myself and in Him.
When I stepped forward in faith ready to be on my own, He sent Justin to me. I walked through that relationship with open hands, ready for God to take it away or lead me in a new direction at any moment. But God knew the desires of my heart for he had put them there. I prayed every day that I could keep him. And God let me keep him. Justin fulfilled one of the greatest desires any of us have, to be loved. Our relationship led to marriage, now we are best friends serving God together. We feel so much stronger as one then we did as two separately.
Now we are expecting a child, there is nothing in the world I desire more then to be a mother, and God has again been faithful to the desires he placed on my heart.
We keep walking forward, and though blind, we see his greatness and trust in his guide. Every step we take brings us closer to the next blessing, the next promise, the next mission.
Today I found great joy and blessing in a box of donated maternity clothes. It was an unspoken need, and I didn't know how I would fill it. God did. God knows what we need before we need it. When we put our faith in him to provide for us, we will never be disappointed.
When we have our priorities in order, with God and his love always at the top, we will never be forgotten.
When we are ready to appreciate the small things, when we find joy in the little moments of life, we will never go long without smiling.
Because, when we are open to the blessings God has for us they will come. They will always come.
Because I know this, I can smile today. My life is not perfect, and there is plenty to worry about, but I will not worry today. I will walk in these amazing maternity jeans that feel so good to wear. I will soak up the sunshine, and kiss my husband goodnight.
I will walk in God's blessings with open hands lifted high. I will praise him, be ready to move when he moves, I will surrender and give everything I have each day. In God's hands, I will fear nothing. In God's hands, my life is good. So today, while I remember this, I will smile.
God's blessings are all around, they are too deep and glorious for us to understand. We will never see them all, we will never be grateful enough. They will never end.
Smile friends. They are all around us. <3
- Leann Allen
