In early May, a friend emailed the following to me:
“I was reading something today that Patrick Henry Reardon said:
“Suppose for a moment, that God began taking from us the many things for which we have failed to give thanks. Which of our limbs and faculties would be left? Would I still have my hands and my mind? And what about my loved ones? If God were to take from me all those persons and things for which I have not given thanks, who or what would be left of me?”
“You know…this made me cry and start to thank Him like I never seemed to do before, because I never thought about it as this. We all can think…oh I count my blessings…but do I really?”
I thought about what my friend sent me, and I finally got around this morning to writing her back. I wrote: Hope all is well with you and your husband. I’ve been slacking off lately, and writing only one post a week and letting other things go. I can’t use the excuse that I haven’t the time, as I do. What I have been doing is reading more than I’ve done. I’d love to say it’s been all super spiritual studies, but it hasn’t. There’s a used book store not too far from us and I’ve got several hundred dollars in credit there from having dropped off many of my wife’s professional books a few years ago. From time to time I’d go in there and get a novel or two. A few months ago I went through the shelves and picked titles in the science fiction and mystery/thriller sections, as well as some in the non-fiction section, that sounded interesting. So now I’ve gotten into reading a novel or two a week. I do read slow.
My day’s are still somewhat filled with various projects, in addition to dropping and picking up the two high schoolers. We added about ten yards more of top soil, extending various garden beds this year. We’re adding a small-250 gallon-pond also. The spring rains and cool weather have allowed things to really grow well this year. We hope the summer will be wet and mild, too.
Thanks for all the emails you’ve sent. I read them all with care. This particular one, “Counting our Blessings?” was one that spurred me on to do a lot of thinking. What I had to consider, ponder, is that there are-I confess-lots of things I’m not thankful for at all and would just rather them go away. Yet they don’t. So in those, too, I’m learning, there are reasons for such things to be. I think some times I may be like a child being told to eat his vegetables, and thinking, “I suppose you want me to thank you, Mom, for those?
I did take the opportunity to sail last week on Cassandra, my Cape Dory 25 sailboat that I keep on Lake Lanier. The weather finally warmed up and the winds calmed down to around 10-12 mph with gust only to around 20 or so. I haven’t even cleaned the poor boat up from its winter nap. But for two-and-a-half hours I sailed around the lake just having a grand old time. Only one thing unpleasant occurred: While pulling the starter rope on the small motor I use to go in and out of the marina, I managed to knock my hat off into the water. By the time I got the motor started, the sails furled, and turned around, my favorite hat sank into lake. Oh, well, it was still worth it.
I think the lesson of that day fits right into counting blessings: In then end, even the unpleasant events all fit into the whole is such a way as we’ll eventually conclude that because of Y’shuaJesus, it all has been worth it!
Lord Bless, Keep, Shine upon you all.
JonahzSong 