Blessings

It is a rainy day in North Carolina as I write these words. Despite the fact that rain is so very important, I am a fan of sunshine. Couple the rain with “stay at home” orders, and this makes for a very exhausting day in my world. In uncertain times, I do not need more reasons to be miserable and self-pitying. Frankly, many of us find ourselves in pretty privileged situations of working from home and being healthy. But this is not true for everyone. In the flood of video calls and emails, I often find myself saying, “I’m just trying to count my blessings.”

Enter Frederick Buechner into the conversation, writing about blessing in Wishful Thinking. He says, “In the biblical sense, if you give me your blessing, you irreversibly convey into my life not just something of the beneficent power and vitality of who you are but something also of the life giving power of God in whose name the blessing is given.” This beckons us not to think of “blessing” in such a simplistic or throw-away sense. It is more than thanks before a meal or a polite response to a sneeze. It is a reminder of the life-giving power of God, and it requires something from me, given to you.

Thus, may we not take for granted the good in our lives, the place of good fortune or good health, but rather be prepared to offer blessings to one another than require something of ourselves and that reminds us of God’s life-giving power. Perhaps I should see the rain today differently as well.