Skip to main content

The Challenge of Seeing Your Blessings

                  When Kevin Kinard was seven years old, his school went on a field trip to Arkansas’ Crater of Diamonds State Park.  For the last twenty-six years, he has been going back to the park in search of diamonds.

                It is not a crazy quest.  Since 1906, seventy-five thousand diamonds have been unearthed in the park, but Kevin always came home empty-handed.  That is, until September of last year.

                On Labour Day weekend, Kinard and some friends went back to the park and he picked up anything that looked shiny or interesting.  By the end of the day, he had a bag full of rocks, but nothing that looked like a diamond.  In fact, he was not even going to get them checked.  However, one of his friends thought they might have found something, so Kinard decided to go to the ranger’s station and submit his collection as well.

                To Kinard’s surprise, not only had he found a diamond, it was the second largest diamond in the history of the park.  Kinard went home with a 9.7 carat diamond that was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

                My favourite part of that story is the fact that he almost dumped his bag of rocks without getting them checked.  Sometimes we simply do not realize what we have.

                Similarly, in our everyday lives, it is easy to undervalue our blessings.  It is tempting to focus only on our problems or the things that upset us.  However, it is much better to look for and expect good things.  That way, even when bad things do happen, you are able to reframe the situation so that you can learn and grow from it.  Often, the way we choose to see the situations that we are in is just as important as the situations themselves.

                When you learn to value what you already have, you might be surprised by what else you find.

                “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:4-7).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dark and Light

            When you look out at the world, what do you see?             Some see nothing but trouble and pain.   They point to things like poverty, crime, problems with drugs and alcohol and marriage break-ups and say that the world is full of sadness and sorrow.   Watch the news for even a half hour and you will get the idea that the world is a dark place.             Others see nothing but good.   They appreciate generous people in their community.   They think about their friends and neighbours and smile.   They marvel at the beauty of sunrises and stars at night.   To them, the world is a bright and wonderful place.             You may be surprised that the Bible supports both of these world views.   On one hand it says things like, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the
1 comment
Read more

New Article: Five Words to Improve Your Relationships

                 In the late 1800s, it was common for railway companies to plant formal gardens beside their stations.   These gardens were filled with trees, shrubs, flowers, and fruit trees.   Sometimes they also featured a kitchen garden growing lettuce, carrots, corn, and potatoes.   Estevan’s Canadian Pacific Railway Garden was once located where Mid-City Plumbing and Heating is today.                The purpose of these gardens was to show what the land could produce.   After hours and sometimes days of riding across the featureless prairies, the railways wanted to show settlers the potential of their new home.   The gardens showed what was possible and they encouraged the settlers to transform their own land and discover its potential too.                Today’s verse acts similarly, in that it challenges us to find the potential in
Post a Comment
Read more

Forgetting What Is Behind

                   Generalizations are helpful because they show a pattern that is normally true. However, they are also dangerous because they ignore the exceptions to the rule.                  Here is my generalization:   It is a quality of the strong to be able to forget the past and move on.   The apostle Paul summarizes this idea when he states, “One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God had called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). Too often, we trip over things that are behind us.   We remember and nurse old hurts.   We rehearse mistakes that no one else recalls.   In doing so, we pull the past into the present and allow it to dictate how we feel right now.   In these cases, we would be better off “forgett
Post a Comment
Read more