How to Find Disguised Blessings: Look in the Raindrops
Blessings. A pay raise, a new car, the trip of a lifetime…Haven’t we been programmed to often think of blessings as synonyms for material gain? Of course, we also think in terms of those people or concepts for which we are grateful – our health, our home, our family…However, I am reminded of a song that brought me to a standstill the first time I heard it. The lyrics absolutely arrested my thoughts and brought me to tears. I still love to sing the song in church. Laura Story’s chorus to her melodic Blessings questions, “What if Your blessings come through raindrops? What if Your healing comes through tears? What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near? What if trials in this life are Your mercies in disguise?” Might we eventually look back and see that this trial, this pandemic, was one of His mercies…His blessings – in disguise?
We have all seen the memes about this crisis on Facebook. Sure, there are the funny ones about toilet paper scarcity (and mine warning people not to hoard coffee…or else;-), but there are others that truly remind us what a blessed people we are. One, in part, reads, “How privileged are so many of us that during a global pandemic, we can just stay warm at home – reading, working, creating, talking to our loved ones, with few worries and a fridge stocked with food?” There are so many other things to be thankful for. As Pastor Steve Hubbard said in a Facebook message this morning, we have time that we might not have had otherwise to slow down, and listen to what God might be saying to us…corporately and individually. We have time that we might not have had otherwise to spend with our babies…the human and the furry. I have enjoyed having Miss Bella as my working buddy, and I am sure she loves that I am not leaving her and am with her all the time. We have time that we might not have had otherwise to spend with each other…just being…or relationship building…or communicating…with siblings, our spouse, our children, or our friends. We have so much.
Colossians 3:15 says, “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.” I do believe that one day we will look back on all of this…all of this uncertainty…all of this chaos…all of this fear...and be able to identify blessings that were disguised during this trial. I believe that we will see that we are a better, more compassionate and loving people for having lived through it.
Blessings ~
Lisa