Article May 17, 2004 Issue

Make life a blessing Give thanks—every day!

By Sandy Sandberg

When I served in the military as a chaplain, I was asked on many occasions to give the blessing, or invocation, at various functions ranging from meals, to graduations, to weddings, to soldiers' departure for combat. With me, it was usually a prayer asking God to guide and take care of everyone at all times.

Blessings take many forms; they are given and received. But those that are most deeply valued—and counted with gratitude—are those given by God. The Bible says, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17).

I've always found this deeply reassuring. I've reasoned that if blessings of this kind have their source in God, the Giver of all good, they must be limitless and always available—even in the midst of suffering, poverty, or any other affliction. And there is a connection between understanding this as a fact and improving the quality of our lives.