Yesterday I re posted a Huffington Post article about being blessed. The attitude of the article was that we as Christians use the term; “I am so blessed” to often express gratitude for physical/material blessings. Which leaves us to wonder about other people in the world without such material possessions. Are they not as blessed by God? I liked the article because I often think we throw around such phrases as “I am so blessed” and “there but for the grace of God go I” without thinking about how those phrases may reflect on other people who are not in our situations. I also think those expressions draw us to a more superficial way of looking at our life here on earth. Researching “The blessing of God” you’ll find it is His favor and protection resting on us. As Luke says “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Peace. God’s favor is His peace resting on us. Don’t we all want the that?

Someone else wrote a rebuff to the article stating the “blessed expression” was often used in the Old Testament to reflect material blessings as a reward from God and questioned whether we may not be so far off in using it. http://shanebertou.wordpress.com/2014/02/28/a-response-to-the-one-thing-christians-should-stop-saying/ Is there room for us to express our gratitude to God without somehow communicating that God is not as merciful or loving to someone else? What expression should we use when we feel grateful?

I have to say today my whole perspective has changed. I have been crying tears of gratefulness for hours now. I can’t seem to stop them from coming. You see, my 20-year-old son was hit by a minivan last night. He was crossing the street near our house and did not see the van. The van was going at least 30 miles an hour, did not slow down and hit him. Dillon rolled up onto the hood and broke the windshield with his head. He was unconscious lying in the street while people poured out of their cars to help. I got a call from a stranger that my son had been hit by a car and was being taken via ambulance to the ER on a backboard and in a neck brace. Holding my breath in fear, I’m not sure how I made it to the hospital, pulling over to text as many people as I could to start praying.

After a long night and plenty of tests, he has no broken bones or internal damage to organs. He does have a concussion and needs to lay low for a week or so. I feel so blessed. I really do. It could have been so much worse. It is nothing short of a miracle that he wasn’t injured worse. He could easily have died, or have a spinal cord injury or a head injury. But he doesn’t. Praise God he doesn’t and I feel blessed. As a Pediatric Physical Therapist I saw the children that ended up in rehab with the spinal cord and/or head injuries. Were their families not as blessed as I am right now? That’s a very difficult question to answer when you are sitting next to the parent of a child who has sustained such injuries. However, I don’t think our walk with God works in such didactic ways. I’m not sure blessings can be measured in the objective physical/material ways in which we reduce them.

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Peace. There is a mysterious tension between surrendering our circumstances to God, seeking His favor, and being grateful for our blessings no matter what. That peace that passes all understanding wraps itself around my ankles and keeps me grounded when the world is spinning out of control around me. Peace. Today I feel very blessed and I’m at peace.