Ignoring Our Blessings

This morning I watched in amusement as our bulldog, Archie, puzzled over a toy that had rolled under a footstool. He peered beneath the footstool and pawed repeatedly at the red ball, which remained just beyond his reach. Finally he sat down in frustration, looked at me, and whined plaintively. I laughed aloud and moved the stool while Archie happily pounced on the ball and trotted off with it.

Archie has many toys, but watching him ignore all the others while he fixated on the one toy he could not have made me think. We humans can get trapped by that same mindset. We can become so intent on the one thing we can’t, don’t, or shouldn’t have that we ignore the many blessings in our lives.

Recently I was so overwhelmed with solving a problem (which was not my responsibility) that I lost all pleasure in life. Thankfully, God patiently showed me how I was allowing the problem to keep me from enjoying the beautiful life God has given me. Now, though it is still unsolved, I give the problem to God who alone has the ability to take care of it. And I focus my energy on appreciating all that God has done for me in other areas.