Oh, the blessings we take for granted

By Mark Azzara

Dear Friend,

I bought a sandwich on Sunday. Drove to a state park. Found a parking spot in the shade. Enjoyed the cool breeze as I ate. Tweaked a manuscript amid the quiet that surrounded me. Wow, I was blessed. And I am so grateful.

I often walk in the mall just to get some exercise. I pay attention while I’m there and I notice how people behave. Many of them do things that appear meant to get others to notice them. Whether it’s the friends they keep, the clothes they wear or the technology in their hands, they don’t seem (to me, at least) to recognize the blessings that are all around them.

I would bet that a lot of people in Florida and the Caribbean would love to trade places with those folks in the mall right about now. After what they’ve been through it wouldn’t take much for them to count their blessings.

They would give anything to just enjoy the sunshine, walk on a calm beach, have a cookout with friends. But I don’t think they’ll have much time for that sort of stuff once the battering from hurricanes subsides. They will most likely be spending all their time and money to recover, just like the folks in Texas and Louisiana.

Yes, we should pray for them. But we won’t unless we know there’s something in it for them, something they will receive from a loving God. I don’t have much by the world’s standards, but I am able to walk on my own two feet, live independently, pay my bills and enjoy the gentle breezes and sunshine in a park.

I am blessed. On purpose. By God. And that’s what I am praying God will do for those in need right now.

I am blessed. And in case you’ve forgotten, so are you.

All God’s blessings – Mark

Mark Azzara

Mark Azzara spent 45 years in print journalism, most of them with the Waterbury Republican in Connecticut, where he was a features writer with a special focus on religion at the time of his retirement. He also worked for newspapers in New Haven and Danbury, Conn. At the latter paper, while sports editor, he won a national first-place writing award on college baseball. Azzara also has served as the only admissions recruiter for a small Catholic college in Connecticut and wrote a self-published book on spirituality, “And So Are You.” He is active in his church and facilitates two Christian study groups for men. Azzara grew up in southern California, graduating from Cal State Los Angeles. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Connecticut.