Count Your Blessings

I Am Blessed

Last Sunday, I got a reminder of just how blessed I really am. A baby was in the meeting and he was just as happy as Larry. He was shouting a bit, but nobody took any notice, least of all the speaker who simply ignored him. After all, he’s a baby and he’s just doing what babies do. His grandma was looking after him and she took him out for a few minutes play. A short time later they came back – the little lad was quieter now, laying down in his chair.

Suddenly, he began to blow raspberries the way babies do. Long juicy raspberries that resounded around the auditorium – much to the amusement of the people around him. This time the speaker paused but carried on. So did baby. The raspberries got longer and louder until the speaker finally stopped and said to much amused applause, “I must be pretty bad today – that’s my own grandson blowing raspberries at me.” He laughed and ploughed on to the finish, then scooped the boy up and gave him a great big cuddle the way granddad’s do.

I remembered the thrill of my first baby. It was back in the early 70’s and I was one of the earlier dad’s privileged to be present at the birth. I remember the thrill of lifting him up saying, “Welcome to our world” before I prayed silently over him. I remember my second one being born too. The midwife had rushed to wherever I was waiting. She threw cap and gown at me saying, “Hurry up – I need your help” as my wife struggled to free herself of the baby who was by now virtually birthing himself. I remembered them growing through their childhood with all its scrapes and mischief as well as all it’s more serious moments too.

I remember the girlfriends and then the choice of one followed by the happy day recorded on my living room wall photographs. I remember the joy of our first grandchild then the announcement of the second followed by the trauma of my wife’s early death. Then my second grandson arrived, I met and married my new, wonderful wife about a year ago, and then came the pure joy of a grand-daughter about 4 months ago. Now we have four grandchildren between us. Four precious bundles of energy and mischief who hurtle around the house making huge amounts of noise.

Oh the blessings of a family. What joy there is in watching these little bundles of potential growing, learning, laughing, crying, and loving. What a blessing to see them develop; to watch the possibilities show themselves to us as they begin to rationalise and enquire and soak up the information needed to live life. Oh the sacrifice of families too. My wife, being American, chose to leave her family behind to join me here in the UK. That is a sacrifice for her and a blessing for me that I cannot measure. Her grand-daughter was two last week but they didn’t see each other because 6,000 miles is a way to go for a party. I cannot tell you the blessing that is for me knowing what she has given up for me. All I can do is to seek to bless her daily by way of return – but it is so small a blessing; so small a return for the sacrifice that she has laid down for me.

Our families are so huge a blessing that maybe we need to separated from them for a while to realise it. I know that I am blessed with extraordinary blessings by my wife, our children, and our grandchildren. We are also abundantly blessed by our church too. The old song has it right, you know.

Count your blessings,

Name them one by one,

And it will amaze you

What the Lord has done.

Yes – I am truly a blessed and fortunate man.