Blessings in the Flies

Written by Ginger:

We have recently discovered that there seems to be a third season this year.  We have shared with you in the past that the Philippines has two seasons, rainy and dry.  However, the third season this year is “fly season”.  At first, we thought it was only our house that was over-populated with these dirty creatures, but in visiting our neighbors around the village we have discovered that the flies are everywhere.  We even heard recently that the flies are also a problem in the town five miles from here.

Yesterday, after locating our fly swatter, I (Ginger) made an attempt to lower their population in our house, and managed to reduce it by ten before returning to teaching school.  In the afternoon, having finished his schoolwork and being partially bored, our son Luke decided to take the job of exterminator and worked valiantly for about an hour.  And, being entirely boy, he proceeded to count his slain victims, proclaiming he had reduced the population by forty!  Later in the day, I managed to add another ten to the count, bringing the total to sixty for the day between the two of us.

Today, I was sitting for a few minutes, and was marveling at how there could still be such a congregation of flies on the rug in front of me after yesterday’s noble efforts at eradication.  Suddenly, a line from my favorite song in a Christmas movie popped into my head, “Count your blessings instead of sheep”.  I began thinking of all my blessings, rather than counting the flies in front of me.  For example, today is my birthday and I am thankful that Jesus is my Savior, thankful for my husband who baked a cake and cooked all our meals today, and thankful for four wonderful children who really tried to make today special for me.  How about you?  What are some of the blessings God has given you?  I would much rather count blessings than flies!