Blessings when you feel like cursing

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the United States, but last night, I didn’t feel particularly festive. It was one of those evenings when I had a dozen things to do at once. The kids needed their homework checked while I was in an IM chat with one of our engineers in Hanoi trying to solve a problem with generating my online help files. The dog needed a walk, the dishes needed to be done, and I needed to get some sleep. I was not in a particularly cheerful mood.

And yet, I still felt blessed.

I am blessed that I have a good family, with a wonderful wife and great kids who want to do well in school. I am blessed that I have a good job that gives me the opportunity to use my skills and learn new things. I am blessed by the times we live in, when we can communicate with others on the other side of the world instantly. I am blessed that, within my lifetime, people we had been in war with are now partners and friends.

It’s easy to feel thankful when times are good. We should also feel thankful when times are hectic or even difficult. From my own experience, I’ve seen how hardships turned out to be blessings by giving me opportunities to grow.

This Thanksgiving, let’s be grateful for all that we have in our lives. Let us see the blessings in everything we have and experience.