Scripture

Psalm 103:2 NLT

Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me.

Consider

How often do we overlook the good things in our lives because we are always looking for something better?

God showers us with blessings, yet so many of them go unnoticed. He gives us beautiful sunsets, magnificent starry skies, and the reassuring rhythm of night following day and season following season. He gives us bodies that can enjoy tasty foods and sexual pleasure, and hearts and lungs that work ceaselessly for our benefit. Yet we overlook these gifts in our pursuit of whatever we think we need or will make us happy. We narrow our attention on what we don’t have and think ourselves deprived.

The same attitude holds true in our human relationships. Too often we focus on what we aren’t getting from the other person and overlook what we have been given. We wear our disappointment and pique like a waterproof coat that sheds the gentle rain of another’s good intentions and keeps us from being refreshed. We judge others not by a fair measure of their faults and virtues but rather by the depth of our needs and desires that are not being met.

You can ease a hurting relationship by the simple exercise of counting your blessings. Without denying the other person’s faults and offenses, allow yourself to remember his or her good and valuable qualities. What attracted you to this person? How have you benefited from the relationship? What little deeds and services have you taken for granted, as if you deserved them?

Make a list of these good things and then allow yourself to receive them, to be blessed by them. To receive a blessing refocuses our attention in a kindly way toward the other person and takes away our resentment.

Pray

Heavenly Father, you have blessed me in ways too numerous and wonderful to describe. Help me receive these blessings with a heart of gratitude and love. Help me also to receive the kindnesses of people around me without my always wishing for more. Help me to let go of my expectations and learn to notice and be thankful for each good deed.

Reflect

1 Corinthians 13:4-5; James 4:2

Ponder

What recent kindness did I overlook because I wanted something different? How can I acknowledge that kindness?