Be a Blessing to Others

God will not permit any troubles to come upon us, unless He has a specific plan by which great blessing can come out of the difficulty.
                           ----  Peter Marshall  (Courtesy of brainyquote.com)

Going through problems can put you in a lonely space.  You can be so down and frustrated that you become consumed with your own thoughts.  Yet I find that sometimes in those same moments that I can actually be a blessing for someone else.  I want you all to consider how you too can be a blessing to others, despite whatever you may be going through.

It doesn't take a grandiose gesture to be a blessing.  Sometimes it comes in a small delivery.  Last night I sent an email to a minister who I have never met but really inspired my recent journey and even this blog.  And it turns out my email was a blessing to him!  Little ole me blessing a minister?  Yes.  Just last week I decided that I was going to wish my friends a great second half of their day.  It turns out that a few of them really needed it :)  It is a small thing to do that took me maybe one minute to do.  

With all this free time I have being unemployed I like to volunteer at a soup kitchen in Baltimore.  I usually bring my mom and she actually helps with little instruction. And she doesn't complain too much which is a blessing enough to me!  I actually feel my happiness when I am volunteering, even when most of the time I am just washing the dishes.  This is kind of ironic actually as I HATE washing the the dishes lol.  But being able to serve those who are less fortunate than me is such a blessing.

One story I will never forget happened in high school.  I decided that for Valentine's Day that I was going to give out Valentine's to everyone I saw until I ran out.  They weren't really particularly special, just the same ones that kids give out to each other.  It was something that I had forgotten about until a few years ago when I re-joined Facebook.  I received a message from one of my friends.  She was always picked on in school and I always felt bad for her.  She told me how she never had forgotten about that Valentine's Day card that she received and that it had really made her day.  Who knew that I was passing out blessings back in the day?

I guess I am writing all of this to remind myself, and you, that you can still be a blessing to others despite your own personal circumstances.  And maybe, just maybe, that if you allow yourself to think about someone else then it will take away some of your own burdens as well.  What blessings have you brought others when you least expected it?