Blessings

As I walked out of a restaurant last night an elderly man sitting by the door looked at me with a kind smile and said, “My your life be filled with the blessings of Jesus Christ”. It was very heartfelt and spoken with great kindness. I thanked him and said that I wished the same for him. I’m not sure if I looked like a man who needed a blessing. It was the end of a stressful day at work and I was feeling a little depleted. There have been other occasions when I have had similar encounters. I must admit that they always give me pause to reflect. Was this really the blessing of a kind old man or was he an angel or even Jesus himself? Was this blessing a wakeup call for me? That’s very likely because I have frequently felt down and somewhat aimless lately. Was this blessing a reminder to me to be more mindful of the many blessings in my life that I sometimes take for granted? Was this blessing a reminder to get over myself and be more joyful? When was the last time I blessed anyone? When was the last time I spoke such words to a stranger or even someone close to me? I saw on the news a few nights ago that we are becoming an increasingly depressed country. One in five people are taking some kind of anti-depressant. That’s a little scary. I know there is a big difference between clinical depression and normal feelings of sadness. Too many of us, however, get to focused on our sadness and what is lacking in our life. It blinds us to the many blessings that most of us have. Today I bless all of you and wish you joy. I challenge you to pay this forward to everyone in your life and to those you encounter. You don’t necessarily have to shout it but spread joy around anyway you can.