Count My Blessings?

Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. Luke 18:1 

And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night?   Luke 18:7 

Usually when I wake up during the night, I am eager to thank God for giving me time to pray. However, sometimes I am not ready to count my blessings. I feel a need to first vent my fears and frustrations. 

"Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin and used in the 1954 film White Christmas. It is commonly performed as a Christmas song, although the lyrics make no reference to the December holiday. In the movie, Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney sang it. 

“When I’m worried and I can’t sleep.

I count my blessings instead of sheep

and I fall asleep counting my blessings.”

The song arose from a personal experience of Berlin when his doctor suggested he try "counting his blessings" as a way to deal with insomnia brought on by stress.  As he says in the lyrics, “sometime ago, after the worst kind of a sleepless night, my doctor came to see me and after a lot of self-pity, belly-aching and complaining about my insomnia, he looked at me and said ‘speaking of doing something about your insomnia, did you ever try counting your blessings?’" The sentimental theme reminds listeners to remember how much they are blessed instead of fretting about short-term problems.

Prayer: Dear God, remind me to daily count my blessings.  I know that you are always with me and walk with me each day. Amen.

Lois Poppe