Complaints and murmurings are commonplace. There is a great cry of loss and depravation. Why look at our deficiencies. Look at our deficits and our weaknesses. Look at what we do not have. Look at the mistakes that have been made. The very soul of man has been marred with the blackness of ingratitude.

Would it astound you to believe that the blessings that we encounter on a daily basis far outnumber the injustices, deficiencies, weaknesses and losses? Would it baffle you to know that most people will go to their grave believing that they were never blessed? This is absolute truth.

Lack of acuity or focus is a problem that plagues many. A great number of the population has been desensitized they can only see the big picture and miss all of the tiny frames that make up that giant montage. A world full of people conditioned to see the big things.

How do we discover those elements to be thankful for?

Refocus!

Stop! Be Still! Observe!

See life in stages. Pay more attention to the process rather than the goal. Live today and less for tomorrow. Express gratitude for the single flower that grows rather than groaning about the lack of an entire meadow. Smile because you can rather than fretting about having nothing to smile about. Take joy in the steps that you trod even though you have yet chartered a direction.

Yet many find this extremely difficult to do. How is it that we use our God given breath to complain when we have been granted the precious gift of life? How is it that so many forsake their health until it is gone? How is it that countless neglect the sunshine, rain, winds, mountains, and valleys. Look at the miracle of childbirth and the blooming of a flower. How can one not be thankful?

It is not that there is a lack of blessings but a lack of attention to what is happening in our lives. The fact that we still have today should be enough of a blessing to be filled to overflowing with joy. I stand as a witness.

My blessings are innumerable. I am alive. I am healthy. I have three beautiful children and a loving husband they are all happy and healthy. I have access to the world and God has given me the words to inscribe on this very page. The fact that these words have reached you is a blessing within itself.

Learn more about this author, Renae Richardson.
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