Count Your Blessings

"The life that counts blessings discovers its yielding more than it seems." ~ Ann Voskamp

There it was, a message written to passerbys on an old country sign, "Count your blessings, not your problems." And there it was, the message I needed to see, right at that moment. It was a beautiful day for a hike and a disengagement from phones and facebook and televisions and, gasp, even books. I was looking for the mountains to find grace and peace and in a small sign, miles from many who would or could see it, the words spoke to my soul far more than the mountains ahead of me would. Count your blessings, not your problems. 

It was half a year ago when I passed that sign on a sunny, summer day, but every day since I see the sign. I apply the message to my life in the darkest of hardest of saddest of moments and I realize while problems are plenty to count, my blessings far outweigh the bad. And in a time that is hard when the problems are real, seeing and seeking beautiful in the blessings of this moment, this day and this life is the way to embrace each second that will never repeat itself again. You are surrounded by blessings. You are a blessing.