Matthew 5:4 – Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. (NKJV)

Many years ago following the death of my dad, I was having a chat with my mother, when all of a sudden, mom said to me, "You know, June, Vernon has turned out to be such a blessing for me since your dad passed away." I looked at her, but didn't say anything in response. She proceeded to say, "Yes, without Vernon, I would be so lonely." You see, Vernon was born what they called "mentally retarded" in 1931. It was predicted that he would not have a long life. My mother looked after him 24/7 up to the day she died. Defying the predictions, he outlived my mother by over thirty years. This blessing from God passed to the rest of the family.

It wasn't until after I became a widow myself that I fully understood what she was trying to tell me. I soon found out what she meant about being lonely, and her words often come back to my mind, even though God was with us both, providing us comfort and grace.

Although God gives us so many blessings in our life, I wonder how many people would consider having a mentally challenged child a blessing. I am sure that there were many times when mom may have thought otherwise, but in the long run, she had a blessing from God throughout her whole married life, and she became aware of this blessing.

Today's Bible passage is only one of the Beatitudes, and I would invite you to join me in reading the rest of them, and considering God's many blessings.

Ephesians 1:3 – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. (NKJV)

Prayer: Dear Father God, may we open our hearts and realize how very much You have blessed each and every one of us, Your children. Help us to look in places where we least expect to find our blessings. We thank You for the greatest blessing of all: Your Son, Jesus, Who died for our sins. Amen.

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About the author:

June Heale <jinnybug@shaw.ca>
Parksville, British Columbia, Canada
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