BLESSINGS ABOUND!

Doom and gloom in the news has many of us wearing long faces and moaning and groaning about the prospects ahead. You notice that I included myself in that category? I received my "comeupance" at prayer meeting last night. I had allowed fear to creep in ( that old demon), and I was falling into the habit of counting my problems instead of my blessings. That is easy for me to do with winter coming on, which brings an automatic greyness to my moods. Bu-u-t--------------------- ! The first thing that happened was so uplifting that my bleak outlook changed instantly! The sister of my dear friend and co-worker got up first to testify. She had wonderful news! My friend, stricken with Legionairre's Disease and complications, had been comatose for two months. Little hope for her recovery had been extended to her spouse and son. The dreaded words, that I despise,"just a vegetable", were even uttered. B-u-u-t............. Praise be to God, she awakened and told her son that she had to get home and take her sister to Wal-mart! Naturally, her son, our little preacher at church, was so exhilarated he could hardly contain himself. On further conversing, it was determined that her memory of several years was affected. She thinks her son is her brother and that she is still a young, unmarried girl, but, the hopes that she can regain those years and be restored to health are just bubbling over in all of us. It was a joyous prayer service and I felt like I was walking on clouds of glory! The pastor stressed that much as we all want to be independent and self-sufficient, we are really dependent on God's mercy for even the next breath we take. When we surrender our will to His, He is able to accomplish great things in our lives. We are truly blessed as a people in a great nation and we need to return to an attitude of gratitude for the privileges that we enjoy and often take for granted. We have received a wake-up call with the failing of monetary things and institutions. We need to get back to the basic ideals that made us a great nation. The very idea that the words "In God we Trust" be taken off our money is indicitive of the decline and erosion of our values. We respect freedom of worship and all beliefs, but our founding fathers built this nation on those very words. I may have to battle depression in the months ahead, but I am not alone. God did not promise that we would not have trials, only that He would sustain us and help us to overcome them. I believe that everything works together for good to them that love the Lord and obey his Word. In the still of the night,, when I am burdened with issues that seem to have no answer, let me count my many, many blessings, and trust God in all things.