Counting our blessings

"Another great performance of Providence for the people of God respects the place and time of their birth. And truly, this is no small concern to every one of us, but of vast consequence, either to our good or evil, though it is little considered by most men." ~ The Mystery of Providence by John Flavel p.46


John Flavel wrote this wonderful little book in 1678 in England. At that time America was a wilderness, a place where one would not wish to be born. But in God's providence it is now the "land of the free and the home of the brave." A lot has changed in a few hundred years. I have been thinking about this for a few days.


This morning my friend Erin posted this about how grateful she is to have access to life saving medications that many millions of people in the world do not have.


"According to the UNAIDS/WHO statistics published in July 2008, only 31% of people living with HIV/AIDS in developing countries are receiving the life-saving medications that they need to survive. Can you even imagine for a moment if less than a third of the people in the U.S. that had cancer had access to treatment? If less than a third of Americans with diabetes were able to receive insulin? Could you imagine watching your family die, while knowing that out there somewhere, there were medications that would allow them to live a long and full life?" ~ Erin Henderson

I am having a hard time imagining taking a little boy from Africa to bring him to America where he will receive medication that will give him a healthy and long life, while leaving his mother in Africa where she does not have the same advantage. She has the same disease, but her prognosis is very grim. If she were where I am her prognosis would be hopeful, her life would be long. Why me Lord? Only because of the grace of God.


We take for granted that we have access to these wonderful blessings. We come to feel that it is our right. We need to remember that there are still millions of people that do not have the blessings that we do. We need to ponder what we can do to reach out to those who don't have what we have. We need to be thankful that God in His kindness has placed in such a place and at such a time that we can treat diseases that once killed thousands.