“Count your blessings name them one by one.
Count your blessings see what God has done.
Count your blessings, name them one by one.
Count your many blessings see what God has done.”
This song I believe just repeats itself and I remember growing up singing this in church, but I don’t think I have ever really considered what it was saying and what it means for my life. However, as I sit here on a day completely founded on being thankful, this song has been running through my head. I’ve been reflecting on the beautiful life I have been blessed with. Now don’t get me wrong. My life has not been all rainbows and sunshine, but when I reflect back on the things I can be grateful for, there are more blessings than I can even count. God has blessed my life so abundantly.
I decided to share this in a blog today because, as I was thinking, I realized that I often am not seeking to ‘count my blessings’, or in other words I am often not actively seeking God’s blessings in my life. This leaves me seeing mostly the flaws. Isn’t it easy to see what we are missing or what we think is wrong with our lives, friendships, families, etc.? I know it is for me. I find that when I am not actively seeking Gods view and His handiwork in my life, I end up seeing my life through the lens of insecurity and lies. Through the lens of the world. For example, when I was reflecting on all the amazing friendships I’ve had, I saw how beautiful they all are. I see how God has used them to bring glory and joy. However, in the moments of my friendships, when I wasn’t seeking Gods blessings in them, I perceived them as not having time for me or not putting in the same effort in our friendship as I was. This built a wall of insecurity in relationships that I carry today. A wall that was completely founded on lies and insecurities that God has been working on tearing down.
What I am beginning to realize is that everyday should be treated the same as the day of Thanksgiving. Everyday should be filled with me seeking God’s blessings and His view of the world around me, and of myself. The days that I take my focus away from His truths and His blessings are the days that the little voice in my head pulls my focus toward lies of unworthiness and views focused on the flaws. When I am not actively ‘counting my blessings’ and being thankful, then I allow the lies and insecurities to skew my reality. Plus, when I see how amazing my Heavenly Father is each day, I grow more intimate with Him and better able to love those in my life. What an amazing day full of joy and hope, it can be when I am seeing the world through God’s eyes with a grateful heart.
Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t have it all figured out and I am not a professor in all things thanksgiving and God’s views. Gosh! I still struggle daily to stay focused on Him and be grateful. I am currently typing this up sitting at home away from my family on Thanksgiving because of COVID. It’s not always easy to be grateful, but I instead choose to focus on the fact that I have internet and zoom to get to share the holiday with them. So take it or leave it, but how amazing could our lives look if we could seek thanksgiving in God’s blessings everyday? If we “count our blessings see what God has done”.
I hope y’all are having an amazing thanksgiving with your families whether that be in person or through zoom. Let’s make everyday a Thanksgiving day!
