So Blessed & So Thankful

This is another birthday gone by. I am thinking of getting this shirt:

(Source: Amazon)
If I can find a dark red color...

I cannot tell you how much I mean it when I say I am so thankful for being here. I made it to an age that isn't old for most but is a blessing for me.

A lot of people live a lot of years and still don't have as many blessings as I do. When I think about one of my nieces dying at in her 30s and another in her 40s, I weep. I think of babies that didn't make it long enough to smile at the parents or meet their siblings. 

Because I know that I didn't have to be here - and sometimes wonder how I still am here - I want to show that gratitude. I take medicine that is probably doing things to my organs that I don't want to know! I don't exercise as much as I could. I have to fight depression and anxiety and, sometimes, a self-defeating attitude. But at some point, every day, I remember that I am here while others are not.

I can still wake up and see a pretty view or find something that makes me laugh myself silly. I can still call my loved ones just to say hello. I still have breath to voice my silly and unimportant gripes. 

Cos I have to crawl to reach something to help me up!

If you are also thankful, show that to others. Show it by being kind to people. You can smile and nod at a stranger or say hello to the mailman. You can ask - and truly listen - a clerk how they are or tell them that they look nice today. Be truthful and kind. You can make or break someone's day with your brief interactions with them.

Think of how you want to be made to feel and make someone else feel that way. We are all important and can have value beyond money or "success" or fame. We can be a blessing to someone.

Proverbs 16:31

We are some of us so very quick at finding the negative in someone. Let's try harder to find the good - even if just a little bit - in people we deal with. I say this as a reminder to myself. Sometimes, I can be so gossipy about something or someone. I'm going to try harder to spread good words about people and things.

Be thankful, be sweet, be nice, be a blessing.

Peace

-- Free