“BREATH IN THE BLESSINGS”
By Jane Dividio-Gagliardo

How many times do we go through life and situations without really embarrassing what it was supposed to teach us? Wouldn’t you agree that this is behavior that needs to STOP so we can “Breath In The Blessings.” Sometimes we are unable to see or feel the blessings in things that happen to us. Sometimes we choose not to see the blessings… even if it hits us over the head. Lol. Yeah, that’s called denial or as I like to call it, avoiding reality. But the blessings can be so comforting and even more rewarding. But fear of the reality of it keeps us from enjoying the blessings.
Here’s an example from my personal perspective of enjoying a blessing. At one point in my life, I was in a free-fall; just watching my life go by with no reaction and no participation on my part. I felt like I was watching my own life just pass by. This was soon after my husband had suddenly died and my son was leaving for a deployment to Afghanistan. Yeah, I was in the midst of throwing a real pity party for myself. Now some of you may say that, under the circumstances, it was okay for me to feel sorry for myself; but not so. As I was sinking deeper into my own misery, I missed a blessing.
My dear friend’s daughter had her baby; a baby that she had struggled to have for five years. When my friend called to tell me she had finally become a grandma, I immediately turned the conversation to me. My problems, my issues. I, unintentionally, hurt my dear friend deeply. We hung up. About 20 minutes later she was at my front door to make sure I was alright. She wanted to make sure I knew she loved me and cared about how I was feeling. She reminded me of the blessing of our friendship and how she wanted to share her joy with me. But most importantly, she knew me well enough to come to me face-to-face and check on me. She also wanted me to see pictures of her new grandbaby. I remember smiling and hugging her.
Till this day I can still feel her hug. It was like a blanket of love just covering me with support and care. At that moment, I “Breathed in the Blessing” and was ever so thankful for it. Somewhere along the way I missed the part that I was not in this alone and she reminded me of that the moment I saw her at my front door. My dear friend has since passed away. But I remember her and that hug like it was yesterday. My point is this. Be someone’s blessing and allow others to be your blessing. And be sure to “Breath It In.” You know who those people or person is that brings you blessings every day. And no matter what your life is like always opt to “Breath In The Blessings.” So I leave you with this quote: “When I Started Counting My Blessings, My Whole Life Turned Around.” (Willie Nelson)
Stay Safe. Stay Strong. Stay Fearless.
