Gettin' "Lucky"

Have you ever been considered lucky? Do you think of yourself or other people as "lucky"?

When I hear my kids say things like, "(name) got (object) (or got to do __) they are so lucky", it makes my skin crawl. It absolutely makes my stomach hurt.

I've told you before that I don't like to use the word "lucky". I don't feel like it does God's faithful providence justice. Lucky. It's just sounds so cheap. How 'bout this: fortunate, blessed-- yeah, that's better.

Feeling blessed means you believe that there's a purpose for your life and everything/everyone in it, even if you don't always understand it every single second of your life. Have you ever found yourself thinking, "that's crazy how things worked out" and it was only good things that happened, especially when you had little or no control over it? That is God's providence at work in your life.

Believe me, my family has had its fair share of misfortune. It's just life and sometimes bad things happen. That said, the good always outweighs the bad. In no way am I suggesting that God is like your personal genie that you summon, give your long list of wishes to, and He grants them one by one. I'm also not suggesting you can out give God or that being rewarded for good deeds should be your motive in the first place. However, when you live your life faithful to God's cause, He WILL bless you, even if that reward is not seen this side of heaven. The moral is do good, help others, give often, but remember to give props to The Giver of all good and perfect gifts.

My hope for you is that you can enjoy time with friends & family, this season. However, keep your eyes peeled for God's blessings which flow so often you probably have a hard time counting them. Next time you don't really feel "lucky", start a list of things to be thankful for and I'll just bet you'll think you're pretty "lucky" after all. Merry Christmas! Save on, friends. :)