By Paige Nash
A couple weeks ago when we had that little thunderstorm that brought in some much cooler and very appreciated weather for a few days, we lost our electricity for a bit. It was starting to get dark, so since it felt pretty good outside, I told Emerson to open the front door to let a little light in and maybe get a breeze going through the house. She looked at me like I was absolutely crazy, and said, “But if someone comes over, they will know we are here.”
You might say that we duck and hide a lot. If someone came and knocked on our front door that we weren’t expecting, we would just pretend we weren’t home. I know this sounds bad, but I have been a stay-at-home mom for almost three years now, which means we may not get fully clothed until after lunch some days, a little one may be napping, or maybe I’m just socially awkward at times and don’t feel like having company over.
Well, I used to be this way, that was until one day I heard a knock on the door and like usual I didn’t answer it to later find out that it was my neighbor kindly surprising us with supper for the night. I felt so bad.
So, you see by not answering a knock on the door that evening, I had blocked a blessing. We do that sometimes, block our own blessings in a multitude of ways. By not forgiving, being uncontented, prideful, pessimistic, or ungrateful. We may not notice our blessings sometimes because we are too focused on our problems.
I believe one of the biggest ways for us to block our own blessings is by not blessing others.
Luke 6:38 says, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
I fully believe what we put out into the universe comes back to us. If we give freely, generously and without expecting praise or validation. You know the whole, “do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,” thing mentioned in Matthew 6:3
Personally, I’ve blocked myself from receiving multiple blessings I am sure because at times I have been more concerned with someone else’s blessings. You can’t expect to be blessed when you’re too busy counting the blessings of someone else.
Lastly, you must have an open heart (and an open door) in order to fully unlock those blessings. I’ve been guilty of both, not always having an open heart or open door and by closing myself off, I have missed out on blessings and what I am sure would have been a delicious meatloaf and I love a good meatloaf!
(Paige Nash is a wife, mom and writer for Webster Parish Journal.)
To report an issue or typo with this article – CLICK HERE
