Enjoying His Blessings

The good ol' USA: where sometimes your biggest problem of the day is that the barista at Starbucks used whole milk in your latte instead of non-fat (#firstworldprobz). Don't get me wrong, I love my home, and I'll always be an American, but honestly...no wonder people hate us. Living in Mexico taught me to see the US from an outsider's point of view. I know what it's like first-hand to work my butt off and get paid $800 a month to be angry with people on the other side of the border sitting in a chair for half a day getting paid $800 a week. It doesn't seem fair, and moving back here causes me to have guilt sometimes. Why do I live here and not someone else? Why do I have food on my plate and others haven't eaten in days? I mourn and pray for those "less fortunate" than I and give when I can, but it doesn't help much with feeling bad for being so blessed.

A couple days ago, a pastor from Jamaica came to talk to our church and thank us for supporting their ministry. They showed us pictures of their homes and streets and the way they lived their everyday lives. And all this 88-year-old man could say was, "Praise God! I thank Him for His blessings." I'm like, dude, what is wrong with me? Why am I not up saying the same thing? The guilt was overwhelming. Then he told us what he thought when he first landed here and saw our people. Instead of thinking, "These people don't even know what poverty is," or "I bet they've never gone hungry a day in their lives," he thought, "Wow, these people are enjoying the blessings of the Lord. This is the best land with the best people." As he talked and continued to explain how different their lives are from ours, he said, "Our God is not an unreasonable God. He is a just God." How dare I accuse Him (albeit subconsciously), of not knowing how and to whom He gives His blessings? It's obvious that His blessings come in many shapes and forms. I've seen many people with "little" that are filled with more joy than those that have "much."

This lesson came right at Thanksgiving time, which reminded me to be thankful for His blessings and share them with others, not feel guilty about what He has chosen to give me. He is not an unreasonable God. He is a just God.