….this has been my thought now for months… we are so blessed…

This is not just good planning, or circumstance in our favour nor is it just good luck.

God has provided for us in so many ways, and I don’t just mean in resources, but in timing, in opportunity, in our health and in friends and family who continually enrich our lives.

I was reminded this week that real appreciation for the goodness of God begins as we recognize that what we have, or what we’ve done, or the benefits we have are not because of what we have done. While God has gifted us, His blessing makes all the difference. The posture of believing that the goodness of our own work dangerously puts us in a position of idolatry.

Wendy and I have done 38 years as Salvation Army officers, we’ve lived in different cities, had different roles, made dozens of great friends. Reflection is a good thing for us all, good for us to count the losses and count the joys. It is good for us to name the people who mean much to us and to tell them that they do. It is good for us to count the ways that our lives are good, the places where we have been that we have found discovered something new. It is good for us to consider what is common to us and be grateful for those things which we share, like access to food, a peaceful land, a stable government, a good education system and a talented health system.

At the end of the day, it is certainly healthy for us spiritually, emotionally and maybe even physically when we spend time reflecting on what is good in our lives and acknowledge God’s hand on it all.

Yes, we are so blessed.