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Consider the Following . . .

"God is so much better to me than I deserve!"

This was the Facebook status of a friend of mine recently. I can't say what it was that brought this reflection on, but I can tell you that I often have this same thought. I have so much that other human beings--equally as good as me and better--are without! What is it that I did to deserve all that I have? 
Think about it: what do you have right now that's worth being grateful for? You're probably sitting in a house, reading this on a computer. Maybe you're reading it from an iPad or iPhone. Think about that. How lucky are you to have a home and internet access! And not just internet access, but probably somewhat fast internet access--do you know there are places in the world that do have internet access, but it takes 30 minutes to load your home page? If it ever loads at all. Let's see, what else? If you're reading this, you have time to be doing so--that means you're not hunting for your food or weaving clothing all day for your family. If you were, I think reading this would be the last thing on your mind. What else? As I've mentioned before, you have an education enough to read this...that's something. Also, you probably have more than an elementary-school education (or if you happen to be too young for that, you have every opportunity to get one in the future). You parents don't have to worry about if your kids are going to be able to finish school through high school or even college or if they'll have to drop out to help you work the farm and milk the goats and stuff. 
What else? What can you do? What's your talent? Can you sing, write, draw, play an instrument, teach, get along with people, sculpt, argue persuasively, excel at athletics, cook well, deal with kids, deal with animals, remember massive amounts of information, what? I know you have some talent or other--not a single person ever doesn't have a talent. What's yours? That, too, is a gift from God. 
What else? What about your friends? Do you have a really good friend or two or many? That's a great blessing. What about the things you own--do you have more or less what you need and even a good deal of what you want? Probably. That's a great blessing. 

I have been thinking a lot about this topic recently. I stand in awe of everything I have been given. God is so much better to me than I deserve! Even besides the things that I already listed, I realized that I have been given so much in my religion, my family, my choice of education, my health, etc.... I can't even begin to number it. 
Just think about it. You are so blessed. Can you even begin to comprehend it? For me, it's too vast, too beautiful and amazing to take in. 

Final thought: I was raised on the idea that with great blessings come great responsibilities. Sometimes when I think about all the things God has given me, the idea that he wants me to give back a little for everything that He gives me blows my mind. It's kind of a frightening prospect. How can I hope to succeed at sharing even the tiniest sliver of all the things I've been given? So I guess these reflections leave me at a conclusion with just one course of action: to get down on my knees and thank Him, then get up on my feet and serve Him, because He truly is so much better to me than I deserve. :)

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