Ten things that I have taken for granted is the past:
- Kissing my kids and wife daily and telling them I love them
- Talking with my parents and mentors often
- Taking a shower (hot or warm water that is easily accessible)
- Having the ability to do laundry whenever I need
- Being able to walk and move without hesitation
- Having a job and the ability to get there without any problems
- Being able to go to the restroom without assistance
- Being able to sit with my children and just be in their presence
- Being able to breathe
- The Lord’s Prayer
By no means is this a complete list, I would not be able to contain the items in finite pages.
Every day we are given blessings that we are not aware or don’t acknowledge. Over the last several years, I have been more aware of my blessings that God has instilled upon my family, my friends, and myself. Sometimes, I take for granted the waking up in my bed or being able to walk from my bed to the restroom or to the kitchen without assistance. Currently, the patients that I serve want to do these activities, but are physically incapable of performing these tasks. When we become more aware and attentive to our surroundings and our privileges, then we are more appreciative of the small things that causes us to be where we are and where we have come from. I have found the more that I am reminded of God’s glory in my everyday life, the more I can give Him more praise and give it unconditionally.
Psalms 105 is a reminder of the hidden blessings that we can take for granted. This psalm is an echo and reminder of the Shema: Deuteronomy 6. The author of this psalm is reminding Israel of the complete promise and fulfillment of the Promise that God gave Abraham. He would give the people of Israel a land that was full of blessings and all they had to do was to enter and remember God’s provisions.
When I first encountered this psalm, I had the feeling of deja vu. As we have prayed through and reflected in the Psalms we are reminded of the promise and liberation and joy of the God. This particularly echos the Shema because in Deuteronomy 6:6-12 it is a statute that we must remember and not take for granted our current situation.
Deuteronomy 6:6-12
Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates.
10-12 When God, your God, ushers you into the land he promised through your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give you, you’re going to walk into large, bustling cities you didn’t build, well-furnished houses you didn’t buy, come upon wells you didn’t dig, vineyards and olive orchards you didn’t plant. When you take it all in and settle down, pleased and content, make sure you don’t forget how you got there—God brought you out of slavery in Egypt.
Each of our current situations, God is in the midst and providing all our needs. Our current situation could be better and it could be worst. We must allow ourselves to see what God is doing and remember what he has brought us through. We must also remember when we are in the wilderness at different times in our lives, God will fulfill his promises if we allow Him to show us in his time.
The main sustenance of Psalms 105 is summed up in the last part of the verse : When you take it it all in and settle down, pleased and content, make sure you don’t forget how you got there.
