Blessings

I absolutely love listening to other people pray. Often I think what a person prays for and the way they say things give me a glimpse into their heart of hearts. I am constantly humbled by the innocense of a child's prayer and the wisdom of an old man's words. Sometimes I am blown away by the simplicity of a phrase spoken to God ... Sometimes I am left pondering a complicated thought shared. Prayers are just awesome.

Yesterday I heard my mom pray (at lunch with some of my aunts). Among other things she prayed "Lord, help us with our struggles and with our blessings."

....and with our blessings?

My first thought was a chuckled 'I usually need more help with my struggles than with my blessings!' But, the more I thought about it,  the more  I realized that isn't quite true.

I have a lot of blessings ... and when I really think about it, I need a whole lot of help with all of them!

*I'm getting ready to have a baby. That's a huge blessing ... And I am going to need oh so much help from God. For patience. For wisdom. For strength. For calmness.  For 5 billion things I haven't thought of yet that I know I will be pleading for help with. To raise our daughter in such a way that she chooses to follow God. To make the right decisions fo r her. Oh yes, I'm going to need help with that blessing.

*I have a wonderful husband who has taken the best care of pre-pregnant and pregnant me. And I know he'll be a great daddy, too. Our marriage - my best friend - is a huge blessing. But I often pray about it ... To be calm when we don't see eye to eye. To be more patient, more understanding. To be a better wife. And I've seen enough to know that raising children doesn't always make marriage easier .... So you can bet I need help with that blessing.

*My job is a wonderful blessing that I love. Yet it can be both trying and tiring. It requires patience that I often pray for. It requires dedication and hard work and pulling myself out of bed each morning even when I'm exhausted ... And so often it is a blessing I need help with.

*Our friends and family are my favorite people around. They are there for me whenever I need them. They make me who I am. They are a blessing. Yet how often do I pray for the right words to say in a discussion? The right way to help in a situation? Patience? To be a better friend? A better sister/daughter/granddaughter etc? They are a blessing that I need help with. 

*Our material things are a blessing ... Our cars, our house and all that it holds, our paychecks. And so often I pray for wisdom in how to use our things. So often I pray for help not taking what I have been blessed with for granted. Things are a blessing I need help with.

I think one crazy thing about this world is that it works to turn the very blessings we are given into the every day struggles we have. Satan works against our attitude, our patience, our better judgment ... And soon what we once saw as blessings are being viewed as simply one more thing to deal with.

Do I view my marriage as the blessing it is, or as the struggle Satan tries to turn it into at times? What about my relastionships with other people? And my children? Can I look at my job and still feel blessed? Am I using my posessions in such a way that they are a blessing or letting them become a struggle in the way of my spiritual walk?

God blesses us. Satan fights to make us overlook those blessings.

So, as we enter a new year, a wonderful blessing from God, I'll be asking (frequently) for His help with my blessings - seeing them, appreciating them, and using them for Him - because sometimes, we all need help with our blessings.