Blessing our circumstances

By karic

2 min read

A dear friend of mine gave me a small pamphlet titled "Blessing our circumstance." Now I will be the first to tell you how hard this is to do. Several times I have read those words over and over and thought how in the world can I bless my circumstance? I mean how can you be thrilled to be sick and miserable? How can pain be a blessing? How can living in bed be a blessing? How can watching people walk away be a blessing? How can you make these things a blessing? Because right now it feels like a curse. A curse that will not go away. Something that has brought a lot of changes in my life, many frustrating changes, and a LOT of heartache.

And then I started to think about what the rest of the pamphlet said, it said count your blessings, see how many blessings you DO have. Once you start to count your blessings you will begin to see all the things you are NOT seeing because TRUTH is we all have blessings even through the storm.

Last year I started a blessing jar just so I could remind myself I have blessings and I did a great job of doing it for an entire year and had even more fun reading them all this past New Years. But I will be honest I haven't written a blessing down in 2 months this year. I feel so overwhelmed with my health and home life that somedays I just don't choose to take the time to think about blessings anymore. It's like I am so consumed with all the negativity. I know its normal to get stuck in a rut somedays but I am in a HUGE rut lately. I need to get back to counting my blessings!

With that said I was reminded of some blessings recently. I got just what I needed, a reminder. Sometimes that is all we need!

I was reminded that God is so big that I have no more room in my life for any negativity. Now I know this is easier said than done but I am going to try and remind myself of this every day.
We may not all believe in the same things but I am sure we can all agree that life is WORTH living and every moment we waste is a moment we can't get back. So make goals/plans and follow through with them. And when things don't go as planned, know its ok, it's life, stuff happens! Pick yourself up and continue on. Remember every second is a blessing.

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jennl Member
Hi Kari, Thank you so much for sharing your story! We truly appreciate your being part of the community. I thought you might enjoy these articles, as they relate to the topic of counting blessings: <a href='https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/?s=blessings&submit=go' target='_blank'>http://rheumatoidarthritis.net/?s=blessings&submit=Go</a>. Thanks again for sharing your story, and please do feel free to come here any time for support or to express how you're doing. Warmly, Jenn (Community Manager, <a href='https://rheumatoidarthritis.net' target='_blank'>RheumatoidArthritis.net</a>)
darla Member
Thank you for your reminder to seek positive thoughts. Attitude of gratitude. Pain & frustration of RA can cloud our thoughts. Love your idea to fill a jar with blessings !
karic Member
Thanks for the comments ladies! So excited to have another place to share my experiences with a very difficult life Ra stinks!
not found
Thanks for sharing. Blessings indeed. God truly blesses us, we just have to reach out. I cried when reading this. Very hard to keep a positive outlook, and pushing back the negativity is a daily chore. I pray every night for better circumstances to get my mind right. This web site I just discovered is helping me already. Thank you.
Member
Kari, I so feel your pain. I remember feeling exactly like you when I was first diagnosed, and still have days when my frustration with this disease and its impact on my life puts me in a pit of despair. I began writing a blog (<a href='https://SpringSight.net' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer ugc'>http://SpringSight.net</a>) a year ago to encourage others, but I can tell you that I have gone back to some of the entries just to encourage myself! There is also a really great book on developing gratitude (it's hard!) that I recently purchased called One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. It's helped me get perspective. You might like it to. Above all else, remember that you're not alone! We have God and we have each other. Blessings.
1. karic Member
 Thanks for your message! I also blog <a href='https://www.livingwithraforeverandaday.com' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer ugc'>www.livingwithraforeverandaday.com</a> I find it helps on most days but sometimes i just get so overwhelmed with "bad" news. I will check out the book you recommended. 😀 God Bless
janet Member
Kari, I found your story inspirational. So much so that I have put a link to it on my blog today. I think the pamphlet is from Sarah Ban Breathnach. In 1996, Bantam Press published Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach. Now, 20 years later, I am taking up the challenge of reading each day's 'gentle lesson' and attempting to comment and act on her advice. Please check out my blog at <a href='https://gringaba.wix.com/literature-blog' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer ugc'>http://gringaba.wix.com/literature-blog</a> and leave me your comments.
1. karic Member
 Janet thanks for your comments. I greatly appreciate. I will check out your site. My site i write in everyweek. My goal is to get everyone to share their story! I believe knowledge is power. We all can learn from eachother and at the same time help others understand our lives. My website is <a href='https://www.livingwithraforeverandaday.com' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer ugc'>www.livingwithraforeverandaday.com</a> . Again thanks and i will check out your site!!! Hugs and spoons