Awareness of God’s Blessings 

   After 20 years in the Navy, many of which were spent copying Morse Code, my hearing was about shot.  My wife finally convinced me that I needed to get hearing aids.  Since I considered hearing aids an “old person” thing and didn’t consider myself old she had some convincing to do.  Thankfully, common sense outweighed my vanity, and I took her advice.

   Shortly after I received the hearing aids, while we were taking an early morning walk, I realized how much I had been missing without the aids.  I could hear the birds singing and I had never heard them on my walks before.  At that moment I recognized that something as simple as the songs of the birds are tremendous blessings from God.

   Most of us live our lives never noticing the simple things.  If we even recognize the many blessings of life we seem to believe that they are just a normal part of life, perhaps even are our right, rather than gifts from God.

   Think for a moment of a young mother, blind from birth, given her sight through a new medical procedure.  For the first time she will see her husband and her children.  That is a miracle; that is a blessing from God!  God uses men and women to perform His miracles every day; again we don’t recognize it.  Even the doctors who perform such feats rarely give God credit for their abilities, taking all the credit for themselves.

   As I look around, I see miracles everywhere I look.  All of nature is a miracle; the love of family and friends is a gift from God.  He has blessed me in so many ways.  And when this life is over, the greatest of all blessings will occur; He will take me to Himself. 

Father the world is full of Your miracles.

Open my eyes to see them.

You bless me in so many ways.

I give You praise and thanksgiving. 

Amen