Blessing? A Challenge...

I have been taking a new class that's required to keep up my daycare license-  yes, a "babysitter" does need continuing education hours!  At the beginning of January, our instructor posed a question which I have been thinking about again.  Three months into the new year, I wanted to revisit her "dare".  She challenged us to think of one word that we wanted to incorporate in our daily lives all year.  A few of the words chosen were prepared, loving, respectful, forgiving, learning, and saving.  The word I decided on was BLESSING.

I have been attempting to be a blessing to those around me.  It's not always easy and there are days I completely forget my goal.  I may open a door for someone or give them some homemade doughnuts.  I might smile and ask how their day is going or I might sign up to direct vacation bible school at our church.  Small and big.  Blessings are my goal.

AND THEN, there are those kind of days... 

The days when nothing seems to go right.  You almost miss the bus, forget about treats needed at the band contest, whiny children who shoved something in the toilet and now it's clogged, you wake up with a headache, you don't know how you are going to pay the electric bill AND register the kids for summer camp, and the list goes on and on.  We all have "them days".  It's a challenge for me to think blessings.  On these days I struggle to count my blessings, but it helps me step out of the funk. 

With blessings on my mind, I am finding blessings surround us.  A simple act of kindness I witness every week springs to mind.  The "coupon fairy", as I like to call her, attaches coupons to numerous products up and down the aisles of the local grocery and pharmacy aisles.  This person remains cloaked in mystery and always keeps the coupons stocked.  What a simple way to be a blessing?

I couldn't add up all the blessings in my life or even attempt to write them all down.

At the beginning of the year, I proposed my Sunday school class take the challenge.  At New Year's everyone is focused on changing their habits, but I didn't want my class to forget that God made each and everyone of us with a purpose.  It's simple and manageable.  I don't believe that January 1st is the only time we can work on bettering ourselves.  We are made different for a reason. I wanted them to focus on small ways they could enhance what God has given them, not feel bad for all their faults.  They are taking this challenge.

If a class of 3rd and 4th graders can rise to this and I am still prodding along after three months, I wager you can. What simple word are you going to choose?