Today, I’m counting blessings. Anyone that knows me, knows I love summer. Summer is a blessing to me. The trees are green, the sky is blue, the sun is bright and the flowers are in bloom. I love all that beautiful color. Creation is full of God’s blessings.
One of my neighbors down the road has a small patch of sunflowers in their side yard. I see them as I drive by, standing all nice and tall. Have you ever noticed how sunflowers naturally face the sun? I saw a whole stretch of sunflowers off I-40 last summer on my way to the mountains. They were all in perfect formation, facing the sun. I had to pull over and take a picture. Did you know that “a young sunflower faces east at dawn and greets the sun, then slowly turns west as the sun moves across the sky. During the night, it slowly turns back east to begin the cycle again.” Patiently waiting for its life source to rise, the flower innately knows what gives it life and it honors that source by turning toward it. I could learn from the sunflower. And I count it a blessing.
Whenever I get in a funk, I try to re-focus my attention to blessings. I googled the definition of blessing today and was surprised to find that it read, “God’s favor or protection“. I’m not sure why this surprised me but it did. I see a lot of God’s blessings around but I’m not sure I ever viewed them as God’s favor. Stepping back now and looking at those blessings as favor makes me feel warm inside. Another blessing. My bad mood is dissipating. Another blessing.
Psalm 84:11 says,
The Lord is a sun and shield;
God is favor and glory.
The Lord gives—doesn’t withhold!—good things
to those who walk with integrity.
Blessings are God’s favor upon our lives. Not only favor but protection. Have you ever thought about God’s favor and protection as blessings upon your life? God reveals blessing after blessing in the scriptures. James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights…” 2 Corinthians 9:8 NIV states, “…God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” There are more. Proverbs 3:1-4 tells you how to find God’s blessings. Philippians 4:19 is one of my favorites and explains that God will meet your every need. I could go on but I won’t. However, I would encourage you to find a few of those blessings for yourself. And if you find yourself in a funk, start counting blessings. There are written blessings in scripture and there are blessings all around us in creation. Find a blessing and claim it. Make it your mantra for the day or the week or your life. Repeat it over and over. Write it on your hand or on an index card and post it on your bathroom mirror. Or, remember the sunflower and turn your face toward The Source. Here’s the blessing I found for me today and I’ll share it with you. It can be our prayer.
‘”May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
may the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
In Jesus Name, Amen -M
You know I’d love to hear from you. So be sure to leave a comment below and let me know what blessing you are claiming for yourself today.
6 thoughts on “God’s blessings and where to find them”
Recently Casey was out on maternity leave and as we were approaching time for her to head back to work we were in a daycare dilemna. We didn’t have a place for Emma to go, Wesleyan always has a waiting list and she won’t send our kids anywhere else. She went to school for this very thing and we have toured every daycare in the triad area years back when we had Cohen so I knew it was coming. Well, Wesleyan had called her at the beginning of her maternity leave to see if she was interested in any openings they may have. She told them not at the moment because she had a pretty solid job. As stated earlier we got into a really tough spot about what we were going to do because it is time for her to go back to work. I said “call Wesleyan” she did, interview was set and as I laid in my bed I boldly prayed, “Lord, this is what Casey wants! It’s not a lot of money but it’s what she went to school for and has extensive experience in. Give her this job! She deserves it, the kids she will be around deserve it!” The next morning a phone call came, ” we wanted to hire you on the spot but we needed to make sure of it by interviewing the other candidates. We would love for you to join our staff. Right now, that is my blessing and it makes it even more special because it is a family blessing.
Bryan – thanks for sharing your heart here. Sometimes I think that’s exactly where God wants us, where all we has is to depend on HIM. God will indeed meet our every needs. Thanks for joining me on this journey. And a family blessing is a great blessing in itself. Blessings, -M
Love this metaphor of the sunflower.
Thank you. You are one of my favorite blessings. I love you! -M
When I saw the brilliant colors of the sky and sunflowers, I was reminded of a sweet song we sang as kids, and to children in later generations. “You are My Sunshine” is a happy song that makes children smile and me too. I wonder how many times I sang that to groups of children, usually ages two and three in day care (love Bryan’s post). I am thankful we can stand tall and straight looking toward the Son, even when skies are gray!
I’m claiming the gift of good health. I’m even more grateful after last years ordeal. God is good all the time. You are a special blessing in my life. 💕