Stop and Count

It was one of those days. You know the ones. The kind where you wonder why, oh, why you got out of bed. From the moment my feet hit the floor, it seemed that things were just going wrong. One thing after another. By noon, I was stomping around, grumbling under my breath. Things that would normally not bother me or things that usually just rolled off my back, were now huge issues. I was almost waiting for the next shoe to drop. Looking for it. Expecting it. When would it come? Everything was a big negative and there was something wrong with everything I laid my eyes on.

About the time I was slamming the cupboard door shut and ready to let someone have it for not cleaning up their own breadcrumbs, the grace of God opened my eyes to see what I doing. It was not pretty. I was so overcome with the negative, that I was making mountains out of molehills. I was so focused on things going wrong and the negatives that morning, that I was totally missing all the positives and blessings that were there. Yes, there were things that went bad that morning. It happens to all of us. That is life. But we all also have good things happening. Blessings around us. But my whole focus was on the negative to the total ignoring of any good thing.

That’s when I felt in my heart the three words: “Stop and Count”. What??? But as I stopped, took a breath and thought about it, I realized the Lord was showing me what to do to get off the treadmill of the negative. “Stop and Count”. That would be count my blessings. Such an old fashioned statement, but really full of truth. As I did that very thing, I started to refocus my thinking and reactions. Yes, the bad things of the morning were still there but my perspective had changed. No longer did I have the overwhelming feeling of being snowed under with the negative. I now could look at them in a different light and handle them with much less stress and anger and I could do so remembering that I have a big God who really does bring blessing into my life daily.

If you’re feeling snowed under today with negatives, I encourage you to take a moment and just “Stop and Count”. Count and look at all the little things that add up to make blessings in your daily life. Little gifts from God. You’ll find your steps will be lighter and it will allow the Lord to move in your day.

“The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.” –Proverbs 10:22