If you’re new to Life Compass, on Sundays I write on Spirituality, Faith and Ethics. Here’s why.
Last week, a friend treated my family to a wonderful six day, five night holiday at their cottage on a lake. We all had an incredibly relaxing and fun time and agreed it was our best family activity of the year.
The highlight of our week happened on the second-to-last day, when someone living in a neighboring cottage invited us to use their jet ski to give our kids rides around the lake. This was a total surprise, and a wonderful blessing to cap off an already blessed week.
When we returned home last Friday, we discovered that someone had broken into our house while we were gone and had stolen two computers, an iPod, and my kids’ wallets and money.
Immediately, we realized the irony of the situation:Â While we were enjoying the best week of our year as a family, and enjoyed the blessing of the free use of a cottage on a lake and free jet ski rides, our house was being broken into, our stuff stolen and our lives violated.
What had been the very best week of our year had now become our worst.
Earlier in the week I was reading The Beatitudes (part of the Sermon on the Mount) in Matthew 5:1-12, where Jesus told his disciples that they’re blessed by God even in bad circumstances. He said:
3“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
4“You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
5“You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.
6“You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat. (The Message)
As I read this passage, I was reminded that inner contentment, joy and peace are not determined by outward circumstances. They don’t result from what happens to us, but what happens in us.
This was easy to believe when I was at the cottage; a bit harder after we got home and noticed we’d been robbed.
But yes, even in this situation, I’ve come to see that we’ve been blessed. No, we wouldn’t have wanted to go through this. But really, it could have been a lot worse!
We were blessed that the thieves took only a few things, blessed that those things can easily be replaced, blessed that we’re able to replace “old” stuff that had been stolen with “new”, blessed that we even have a place to call home…the list goes on.
One of the most important things is that we’ve been blessed with peace and the realization that no matter what happens, God is with us, and that He can take a crummy situation and make something good come out of it.
Yes, we truly are blessed! What about you?
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