I've always loved the movie White Christmas in which Bing Crosby sings an Irving Berlin song, "If you're worried and you can't sleep, just count your blessings instead of sheep..." Isn't that a wonderful truth? When we understand how blessed we are, our worries don't seem nearly so large.
I saw something that reminded me of that song today. Our office has the usual physician waiting room magazines, all of which are either addressed to the office or to my boss or to me. The Ebony magazine is addressed to me. I'm not really sure how this got started, but we have a little Ebony ritual. When the magazine arrives, my boss brings it (usually with a stack of mail he's sorting) to my desk. "Here's your magazine," he'll say. While he finishes sorting through the mail, I flip through the Ebony, which is very informative, and read the most interesting parts aloud.
As you may have guessed, the magazine arrived today. On page 11 of the April 2014 issue, I found #30 in a list of ways to transform your life. It recommended that, every night before bedtime, you make a list of three blessings. Having a grateful heart, it said, would help you both mentally and physically. In just three weeks, the article claimed, you would be sleeping better and "less likely to catch a cold".
I laughed out loud. "How funny!" I said. With a nearly-straight face, my boss said, "And you haven't had a cold since you started blogging!" We both laughed about the claims, but I don't think they were wrong. Proverbs 17:22 says "A cheerful heart is a good medicine...." (ASV). I'm pretty sure a grateful heart is, too.
In the words of Irving Berlin, "If you're worried, and you can't sleep, just count your blessings instead of sheep..." When you start counting, try writing them down, too. You might be surprised by how good God's been to you, and you are likely to feel better, too!
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