How do you count your blessings when what many people are counting is one disaster after another? There is a way, and it lies in the good we can find even in difficult times. Even in such times, there is a way to see blessings. Sometimes things get so bad that we truly feel helpless, but feeling helpless does not mean we are hopeless. We are in the season of great hope: Christmas, and for us, this means that we live in the knowledge that whatever happens, we are still in God’s hands. The miracle of hope lies in recognizing that in this world, God has many hands. Sometimes, it takes tough times for us to see just how many hands God has! When things seem to go out of control, the answer lies in the way kind people respond to what actually can be controlled in bad situations. Ordinary people can use the resources they have to help … people can see others in need and reach out to

help … people can use their human talents for the benefits of others. Everyone of these is a blessing waiting to be recognized. The fact that they come in human dress does not change the fact that they really are blessings. As we approach the New Year, let us do so together in the spirit of hope … in the spirit of being willing to recognize the simple as extraordinary … in accepting kindness with gentility and humility. Let’s work on being the people that God made us to be … His image here on earth.

May the blessings of God be ever-present in the New Year and always!