Noooooooo!!!
That moment you slam your car’s trunk shut and realize you’ve locked your keys AND your phone inside.
I panicked. Did pay phones even exist anymore? Did I know my husband’s phone number by heart?
I’d used his car that day to run errands and he was catching a ride home with a co-worker. His car was our only transportation because we’d driven to Houston together from our home two states away so he could work.
During a quick stop at a grocery store, I’d done the unthinkable. I’d locked my keys and my phone in the trunk of my car.
With my heart in my throat, I ran inside the store, borrowed a worker’s phone, and dialed the number I hoped I remembered.
He answered.
I explained how I’d loaded groceries in the trunk and then, in an effort to maneuver a watermelon, I’d dropped my phone and keys in the trunk FOR JUST A SECOND. And then slammed it shut without thinking.
His usual cool and calm self told me he’d get to me. Somehow.
I knew Houston rush-hour traffic separated us by at least 30 minutes.
My frozen goods sweltered in the locked trunk.
Dejected and embarrassed, I trudged to a storefront bench to wait.
My plans, dinner, and evening were all spoiled. And I had no idea how or when my husband would reach me.
But I knew he’d come. Even if he had to walk the 20-lane Interstate, he’d show up.
And that was enough to be thankful for.
As I sunk onto the bench, I thought about my patient spouse and thanked God for him. Then I realized how thankful I was that, even though my car was locked, it wasn’t broken down. And I had a safe spot to wait with plenty of people-watching to do.
Before I knew it, I was thanking God for a zillion blessings I hadn’t been mindful of until I got still.
About 45 minutes later, a car pulled up and my husband got out. A gracious co-worker had dropped him off and my husband had his extra car key in his pocket.
Even before I saw my husband, my evening had already been salvaged. My plans had been wrecked, but my heart was full.
That’s what tends to happen when we count our blessings, or “give thanks in EVERYTHING” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, HCSB).
Not necessarily FOR everything, but IN everything.
What does counting your blessings mean?
It means expressing the kind of thanksgiving has less to do with our circumstances and a whole lot more to do with our hearts.
Speaking of our hearts, when it comes to counting our blessings, most of us tend to fall into one of the following categories—
- You’re a habitual complainer. You don’t mean to be, but life seldom seems to go your way and people never seem to cooperate with your plans. Unfortunately, on most days there’s more to gripe about than to be thankful for.
- You wouldn’t necessarily admit this to anyone, but to be honest you feel entitled to what you have. You worked for it and you deserve it.
- You’re quick to thank God when He works things out in a way that pleases you. In fact, you readily acknowledge Him when life turns out exactly the way you wanted it to. You even log onto social media and declare to everyone, “God is good!”
- You’ve learned to give thanks in ALL things. Even when life isn’t going the way you want it to, you know God is sovereign and that His ways are higher and greater than yours. You recognize you don’t really deserve anything, so every blessing that comes your way is a gift. And you’ve opened your eyes to see that blessings abound everywhere.
One of the simplest, yet most profound ways to change our outlook on life is to develop an attitude of gratitude. It’ll make us happier, friendlier, less stressed, easier to get along with, and more confident in our faith.
Even when nothing is going our way, we can learn to be thankful. As long as we’re breathing, there are reasons to thank the Lord. For one thing, He’s always with us. Even on a grocery store bench.
What does counting your blessings mean? Name them one by one.
Seriously.
We can make it a habit to intentionally stop and count our blessings. When we wake up in the morning, we can thank God for a new day, for lungs that let us breathe, and for His presence. When things don’t go our way, we can stop and remind ourselves of all the things we have to be thankful for in spite of our present circumstances.
What does counting your blessings mean? It means we choose to—
“Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely, and dwell on the fine, good things in others. Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about”
Philippians 4:8, TLB
To be honest, it’s impossible to grumble AND be grateful. So, let’s look around and count our blessings.
Gratitude won’t necessarily change our predicament. But it’ll almost always change our heart.
