Count your Blessings

The negative impact of this pandemic on our mental health has been well documented. The experts fear that this is just the tip of the iceberg and the full impact will not be known until many years into the future. The main driver of this problem is the sense of isolation—that we are in this alone with no social interaction. Being a social person myself, I am definitely feeling it! One thing I find has been very helpful to me. I take the time and count my blessings! Just really basic stuff, but when we get in this dark place, we don’t have the energy or even want to think about blessings! It is just the opposite. That is when we really can use a good pick-me-up from God. It hit me one morning when I was sitting in my home office glancing out the window and I saw a whole bunch of tulips for the first time this spring. They were brilliant purple, and it brought a smile to my face and then I remembered what Jesus said in Matthew 6—“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.” I started to thank God for just being alive and able to enjoy His creation all around us. Then I considered the comfortable house that we call home and all that we have in it. Then my families and those that love me dearly, and my dear brothers and sisters I have in Christ here in Waterloo—the encouragement and love I constantly receive from you. Most importantly, Ephesians 1:3 tells us: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”After that exercise of counting my blessings, my mood changed. Then I closed off by reading Psalm 23. Wow! How blessed I am! How immensely grateful I am! I urge you to do the same. Trust me, it will change your outlook.

Samson Ling