Counting My Blessings

Did you ever have a day when learning of other people's problems made you take a deep breath and thank God for your own troubles which by comparison seem much more manageable? Well, that day for me was yesterday. I heard from four people for whom I care a great deal, and after hearing their current problems I felt as if my problems are less in number and more likely to be solved. I have always thought that most people don't know the difference between a problem and an inconvenience. Well, these people really do have problems. One has received a cancer diagnosis which is heart-wrenching. Two who don't know each other are both experiencing the fracturing of what used to be very close families, and the fourth one is facing what will most likely be a very ugly divorce. We all face problems in this world today, and sometimes we become so self-absorbed that we think our problems are the most serious or painful. In truth, that is usually not the case. We can always find others who are much worse off than we are. When we do, we should listen with an open mind as they relate their troubles. We should give advice only when asked to do so and only if we are qualified. Then we should give thanks for our own problems which we can and will face and handle. One of my favorite fortune cookie messages is, "We are continually faced by great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems."