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Blessed


All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:  You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. (Deuteronomy 28:2)

          I am so blessed. I can’t say that the blessings I’ve been given are quite what is listed above. Being blessed is just what came to mind as I looked out the living room window and saw European Starlings. I’m not blessed because I have this imported species snacking on bread in my neighbor’s front yard. I felt blessed because I know what they are. I’ve also seen Grackles, Crows, House Sparrows, Robins, a Northern Flicker, and a Red-Bellied Woodpecker – and possibly a Downy Woodpecker – today. It may seem silly to think that being able to identify birds is a blessing, but I feel blessed.
          Some people think about blessing as financial or material wealth. Others think of blessing in terms of talents and skills. Some think in terms of family and friends. A few think in terms of beauty. The things I seem to treasure most, and the things that are blessings to me seem to deal more with experience and knowledge. My computers and my camera, they’re blessing-catchers. They let me record and share my blessings, whether they are pieces of truth, or pieces of beauty, or pieces of laughter, or pieces of sorrow.
          Not all of my blessings sound like blessings. I get no paycheck for the work that I’m doing right now, but the freedom I have is a blessing. Some family members were in a car accident in which their car was totaled. They only received minor injuries. That's a blessing. Above all else, I’m blessed with a God who isn’t like other gods. I’m not sure that that’s the highest praise that can be given to Him, but if He were like them, I don’t think I’d be blessed at all.

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