Count your blessings...

"Count Your Blessings"
The words I found on a mud-covered sign at the first home we had worked at while helping flood victims here in Nashville. The sign seemed to have been left hanging for a reason. As home owners threw out nearly all of their possessions and gutted the inside of the first floor to just rafters and wires, this sign was still displayed on the front gate right inside the carport.

The whole time we were helping these people, I couldn't keep from thinking how terrible the whole ordeal must have been. So many families have lost hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, of dollars in possessions... countless items of sentimental value... and some lost family members... Even in spite of all these losses, the overall attitude did not seem to be beyond hope, despairing, or even portray the slightest bit of "oh poor me". The general attitude truly seemed to be- "Count Your Blessings".

The volunteer efforts from the Nashville community has been incredible, and those affected by the flood have noticed... and they've taken this whole ordeal as an opportunity to focus on the love and generosity that complete strangers have shown to them. For some unknown reason these people know that they have lost a lot, if not everything, and they show confidence that they will recover from this. The countless volunteers that have gone into affected communities has helped, but in the end the Nashville flood victims have shown much more livelihood than I could ever imagine anyone could even "put on" in their position.

Cheers to you Nashville, thanks for the simple reminder to keep counting my blessings...

Verse of the week-

II Peter 1:3,4

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.