In my few/many years on earth or alive, I have found myself gasping for air because, somehow, things felt like they were at a standstill because of what I am hoping and praying to accomplish or receive. To many of us, we tend to stop living and just exist because, among all the great things going on around us, there are one or two things that we wish for, so we stop living. Due to the lack of those things in our lives, we tend to stop living. We hang on to that particular thing we are missing; we forget about all the great things in our lives, and we fail to acknowledge our accomplishments because, within us, we believe that if only we could get that one thing we have been wishing and praying for life will be worth living.
To some of us, it might be that we are waiting to get married, praying to have kids, waiting for that great job, praying for funds to start a business, or believing in God for our health. Everything else aside from one of these lists might be going great, but because we are not married or we have not gotten that big break in our finances, we fail to live.
I was one of those people. For years, I have failed to acknowledge the many blessings in my life because I am waiting on God for that one thing. I just realized that I have somehow put my life on hold because I am anxiously waiting for that one puzzle to be solved. It’s like forgetting about the other solved puzzle; life cannot go on unless this one last puzzle is solved. I just realized that I was being selfish to myself and to those around me. I was being ungrateful to God. The song “Count your blessings, name them one by one” is a song that we must constantly play in our minds and write on the walls around our homes to remind us of the many blessings we are fortunate to have.
Psalm 103:1-5 perfectly sums up why we should live a life of thanksgiving and gratitude. Just live life knowing that we are more than enough.
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me bless His holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
3 Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Going forward, I know it’s not easy; I will not lie if I tell you it’s easy because society sometimes unknowingly makes us feel like a failure. We live in a world where, every day, people are updating their status and sharing great accomplishments, and within you, just because your accomplishment is different from theirs, you feel like a loser. Better yet, your accomplishment might not be what the world sees it as an accomplishment, and for that reason, they fail to celebrate with you. However, one thing you have to keep telling yourself is that you are different; your story does not have to match the rest of the world. For once, I have decided to make a cautious effort to celebrate life. Enjoy the process while waiting for the big breakthrough. I have themed my year 2018 as the year of doing, the year to stop seeing myself as a victim but to see myself as a VICTOR. Why these slogans or themes? It’s because I found myself always complaining about the things I wish I had and ignoring the blessings I have. I allowed life to beat me up so much because of just that one thing I have been praying to God about. 2018 came, and as you know, the father of all lies, “Satan,” started whispering lies into my ears about how I have still not gotten that one thing I have been praying to God for. He even used some of my loved ones who unknowingly dampened my spirit because of their words. To some, I have sinned; maybe God is mad at me; maybe I am doing something really wrong or bad, and that is why God has still not answered me. Can you testify to this? Hahahahaha. That is the devil, speaking lies and accusing you. Remember, the bible says he is the accuser of the brethren. (1 Tim. 4:13, Rev 12:10). I remember a dear friend, someone I genuinely look up to, talking to me about my situation, and though I know the person came out of concern for me, I couldn’t still believe that all these while, this is what they have concluded concerning my situation. I started praying to God, asking Him to guide me, and if there was any truth in that friend’s statement, God should counsel me. As I was praying about it, God reminded me of the story of Job and how his friends accused him in the time of his calamity. (Read the story of Job 🙂 )
