Blessings Abound When…by Paula Rose Michelson

 Since the Obamacare website appears to be having a bigger “Failure to Launch” than the movie by that name did, I felt that today would be a good time to reflect on what makes life a blessing.

It seems like all my life, and perhaps yours to, I’ve been looking for a blessing. Being Jewish, I’d like to assume that this is a unique Jewish trait—one that only a member of the twelve tribes can claim! However, thinking like that can get one into an awful state when it finally becomes crystal clear that the blessing is in the doing, not the waiting. I’ve had to remind myself of that reality of late. For, you see, given the blessing (?) of having my husband get ill and then be sort of forced to retire, and discovering that having him home all the time was an amazing err…well, sometimes less than wonderful experience, I found myself wanting to say, “This wasn’t supposed to happen to me!” I’m happy to say, I didn't do that because having a husband who loves to encourage me helped me become the me that I am. Now I'm able to do that for him! 

My I do sound Pollyannaish when writing about Ron because I know that God's in control of our lives. This tension  this pull between wanting to sound like the Pollyanna did this Christianizing  
everything verses owning our reality was summed up best by Rabbi Shaul (the Apostle Paul) who wrote in Romans 8:13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. Living by the Spirit sounds good, yet, how do we do that? How do we deny (subjugate) our wants, our perceived needs so that we, like Paul, recognize that blessings abound when…

Perhaps being ultraistic will work for some, others may look forward expectantly. I believe that the answer is found in 2 Corinthians 5:7 For we live by faith, not by sight. Applying my faith in the infallibility of God's Word which is always effective, I trust in the one who is my all in all, and trusted in Him!

Walking as a bond servant of Messiah is a choice for all are called, some answer that call, and from that number God continues to ask, if any one will serve Him today. In Joshua 24:15 we read “… But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Today it might be a good idea for you to ask yourself, what do you value, and does your life reflect those values. What we think and do reflects who we are and who’s we are.