Pencils
I love pencils! In fact, I have a tendency to get pretty excited over a great pencil…it’s the small things in life. The best part about a pencil is the eraser! I journal and write by hand often, and I make mistakes. That eraser is perfect for wiping out the mistakes so I can start over on a clean surface.
Don’t you wish life were that easy? Just turn the pencil over and erase the mistakes and start over? Oh boy, I do!
Several weeks ago, my husband and I sat down for our monthly budget meeting. The dreaded budget meeting; I’m sure was his first thought. This is a pain point for us – he’s a spender, I’m a saver and talking budget is definitely not the highlight of our time spent together. Especially since we’ve been trying to pay off debt. But every month, we dig into it and talk.
Now, when you have a plan in your mind and it doesn’t quite go your way OR there is a hiccup, how do you react? I so wish I could tell you I’m one of those women that reacts with faith and grace. But, most often I don’t, particularly when it comes to the budget and my plan to pay off our debt. I get frustrated and immediately begin to feel overwhelmed and suffocated and my ability to see a broader view becomes constricted to the here and now. “We will never pay it off!”, I’ll say with gritted teeth as I’m running my fingers through my hair.
And this budget meeting was no different. You’d think I’d learn, huh? Still, I was feeling ‘woe is me’ and overwhelmed by it all. I took zero precaution in practicing 2 Corinthians 10:5 (taking every through captive and making it obedient to Christ) when I blurted out, “Why doesn’t God bless us more?”. The look of horror on my husband’s face said it all. But you better believe he vocalized it to! “You think God doesn’t bless us ENOUGH?!”, he spat at me. “Look around you – within reach in this very room.”, he continued to list all the blessings we have received from God.
“I know God blesses us and I shouldn’t want more. But I do. If I’m being real honest, I want him to bail us out.”, my words came came out in a rush. I was determined to justify my blasphemous questioning of God’s character. My husband was disgusted with my greed. Being the mathematician he is, the statistics began. Average household incomes. Average household debt. Comparisons of how much money we are able to allocate just to debt vs. other households. On and on he continued his lecture to do his best as the spiritual leader to shred my layers of greed and ingratitude. And I sat there taking each blow to my heart as my husband gut checked me. Soul checked me.
Over the next several days, wrecked by my sin of greed and ingratitude, I did some personal reflection. I read the Bible, I prayed, I cried, I asked for forgiveness and I wallowed in how I had allowed my sinful nature any foothold in my life. Of course, I also had to pick up my journal and my trusty pencil. Unlike other times though, before I wrote anything, I turned back a few pages to read prior entries.
The pages were riddled with negative, self pitied thoughts of all that I didn’t have already and the things in life that weren’t going my way. Do you find it as easy as I do to list or vocalize what you find unfair in life? If so, let’s change that!
Ephesians 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”. When I read that, I am struck by “…blessed us with ALL spiritual blessings…”. Careful though, or we’ll stop at ALL and glaze over the next word. It says ALL spiritual blessings. While God is not unfaithful to provide for our needs monetarily and materially, spiritual blessings aren’t always: monetary, material or tangible blessings. Spiritual blessings, in my opinion, are salvation first and foremost; then it is opportunities to fellowship with other believers; opportunities to give to the needy; or to witness to the lost. Spiritual blessings are the words given to us, by the Holy Spirit, at the right time in the right situations to impact another life. It’s the special talents and gifts that the Lord has given you to do all the special work He has set aside just for you to do! And it is the rest you find in the Savior of the world when you spend time in His presence, at his feet, worshiping in times of highs or lows. Actually, this is just a few of the spiritual blessings…God has blessed us with ALL of them through Christ Jesus.
And that is how we should be using those pencils! We should be recording and taking an account of our blessings – EVERYDAY!
COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS!
Years ago, I had a friend challenge me to write down just three blessings at the end of each day. Admittedly, I halfheartedly did this. But today, I endeavor to be intentional. And I challenge you too. Pick up that pencil. Count your blessings. Write them down. And use the eraser to wipe out the ‘woe is me’ attitudes.
Heavenly Father, thank you for every blessing you give me daily. Please forgive me for the moments when I find it easier to moan and complain about all that I feel I need / want and don’t have. Help me to remember that I am blessed beyond measure and to acknowledge those blessings daily, so that it might become my new nature! In Jesus Name, Amen!
Please comment on this post OR drop by the Jesus Through Joanie facebook page to post your blessings – monetary, material, spiritual – doesn’t matter, just acknowledge them. I do wish to interact with you, but if you don’t want to publicly call attention to yourself, be sure to pick up a notebook and begin counting your blessings. I promise you, if you struggle doing it at first, it will become easier each new time to recognize the blessings; and before long you will be grabbing a new notebook!
