Some Days, I Just Need to Count My Blessings

“When I’m worried, and I can’t sleep, I count my blessings instead of sheep, and I fall asleep, counting my blessings…”.

One of my absolute favorite movies of all time (besides Star Wars) has to be White Christmas. I love the story, the settings, the actors, the choreography, but most of all, I love the music. The songs, in my opinion, are some of the best, and when I hear them, instantly, I think “Christmas”.

In this movie, there is one song that touches me like no other. This is a song I have heard hundreds of times, and no matter how often I hear it, I never get tired of it. Late one night, Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney can’t sleep. They meet in the lodge, sit by the fireplace, and begin singing this simple, yet powerful song:

It is easy, when you are battling chronic illness, or really facing any problem, for it to consume your focus. Because it is always there, or sometimes because of the constant pain or struggle, or even sometimes because the heartache is so deep, it can become very hard to see past it. It literally becomes all you can see, and becomes the focus of your life.

When this happens, all other things are crowded out. Everything is viewed through this event or condition, and it colors everything you see. This problem, this difficulty crowds from view all the truly wonderful things in life.

Instead of seeing the blessings and joys, we see the problems and hurt. When this happens, we miss so many things, and we fail to see that in spite of this challenge, we are blessed. In my almost 30 years of battling chronic illness and pain, and especially with my latest diagnosis of Parkinson’s, there have been days when this has been very hard to see.

Many days, I have succumbed to discouragement and depression because all I could see was the pain and the future that most likely waited for me. When this became my focus, all other things were blocked from my vision, and my discouragement only grew deeper.

It is during these times, when I need others around me to help me see how truly blessed I am:

I have an amazing wife and children.

I love my job (and I can still do it at this point) – nothing beats spending the day with kids!!!

I have great friends walking with me.

I have great coworkers, teachers, that I get to spend every day with.

I have an amazing family (over 50 of us) that love and support each other.

I can still help provide for my family.

I am able to do things to help provide for my family’s future needs.

I have an amazing church family to encourage us.

On and on the list could go, and as I view it, I am reminded once again that in spite of the pain, in spite of the diagnosis, in spite of the future, I am a blessed man. This thought does not take away the pain and difficulty, but it helps to put it in perspective and remind me that no matter the problems I face, there are still many, many blessings for which I can be thankful.

What is your list of blessings? No matter how bad things are – and things have been pretty bad at different points in my journey – there are always blessings present in life. Which are you counting, your problems or your blessings? I encourage you today, take time and remember all the things that are blessings in your life. When you count them instead of counting and focusing on your struggles, you may find you have more blessings than you realized. When faced with worry and discouragement, there is no greater cure than simply remembering the blessings in your life. Take time today to count just some of those blessings – it may just change your focus and help you see life from a slightly different perspective.