I really mean it. I’ve been blessed.
When I received word that I had melanoma hundreds of thoughts seemed to crowd my mind all at the same time. Strangely, one thought that kept coming back to me, after I got over the initial shock, was that I have been blessed. I don’t mean just now, but throughout my life. I really don’t have anything to complain about. I’ve seen poverty and suffering up close and nothing in my life compares.
Many of you are just now seeing images of Haiti after the terrible earthquake of 2010. My heart hurts for those dear people who had so little and now have lost so much. You see I have friends there; I’ve traveled to Haiti for twenty years, taking teams from my church to minister there and teaching at a Bible School. This March I was to take my 26th trip to Haiti but that has been put on hold because of the devastation. Even before the earthquake Haiti was a place of extreme poverty and suffering and I’ve seen it up close. Many of my Haitian friends have experienced hardships and suffering on a scale unlike anything I will ever know. Compared to them I have been blessed indeed.
I’ve been blessed . . .
- to have been born into the wealthiest nation in the world
- to have been born into the freest nation in the world
- to have come from a loving, godly family
- to have my sins forgiven by the grace of God
- to have the most wonderful woman for a wife
- to have three great children
- to have two wonderful son-in-laws
- to have four of the greatest grandchildren anywhere
- to have a loving and supportive church family
- to have food on my table
- to have a roof over my head
- to not have to worry about where my next meal will come from
- to have more than one set of clothes to wear
- to have the opportunity to serve God
- to have the privilege of ministering in Haiti
- to have the privilege of ministering in the Philippines
- to have had good health throughout my life
- to live in a beautiful area of the country
- to be able to see and to hear and to touch
- to be able to pray and know that God hears
- to be able to read God’s Word and know that God cares
- to have all the modern conveniences of life
- to know that when I die, I have a home waiting for me in heaven
And the list could go on. I know that it may not always be easy to keep this perspective but, God willing, I won’t forget.
Yes, I Have Been Blessed.
