"I can see the blessings I keep receiving."
Scott Bodell
Seeing Life's Best at Your Worst
My friend Scott has a horrible neural disease. He was describing it for me one time and I could hardly believe my ears as he spoke of "lightning strikes" across his brain and how it incapacitated him when they were storming through his head. He has good days and bad days. Unfortunately his bad days are becoming more numerous as the months march on.
I know this is the case, so sometimes when I'm driving past his house I feel the need to just stop in to see him and find out what I can do to help. As we sit and visit I always learn a lot about weighty subjects such as charity, courage and gratitude. This week was no exception as I sat on his couch across from him.
As soon as I sat down one of his little dogs jumped up into my lap and asked to be petted. When she does so I like to pretend I don't know what she wants. When I do, she sits up on her haunches, tilts her head back and then lets it fall to my chest; it is a clear demonstration of her desire. She's like all of us. She just wants to be recognized, be happy and feel good.
As I stroked her head, Scott and I talked about some of his current trials. We talked in great detail about the current events in his life. As we talked, I soon watched Scott sit up a little straighter and lift his head a little higher. His eyes began to sparkle. His mouth stopped moving for a moment and then he said, "You know, when I look carefully at everything that has been happening I can see the blessings I keep receiving! Even when I'm having real difficult trials I'm still blessed!"
He finished talking and I saw him drop his head to rest it on the back to his chair. For that moment he knew that he wasn't alone in the universe. He could see that he was being recognized. He was happy and felt good.
I was feeling good as well. Scott showed me that even during the stormiest periods of life good things still happen. We just need to look for the good and accept it with gratitude. When good comes during a personal tempest it is all the sweeter because we recognize it as the treasure it truly is. The mark of good character, proven over time, is if you can see the best life has been giving you when you're at your worst.