Counting Blessings, Not Goslings

Happy Monday to our CFC Family!

As you might have guessed from reading many of my previous weekly emails, I receive a lot of inspiration while looking out my kitchen window. Time and time again, God has used simple scenes from nature, everyday moments, and ordinary circumstances to teach me something meaningful. Some of my best reflections have come while standing there, gazing outside and allowing the Holy Spirit to speak through His creation.

Yesterday was no exception. As I stood at the kitchen sink washing a few dishes, I happened to glance across the road at our community pond. There I noticed what appeared to be two families of Canadian geese. One family had two tiny goslings waddling safely between their parents. The other family….well, I honestly lost count somewhere around twenty. I am not exaggerating! There were at least twenty little babies following behind two very busy-looking goose parents…I could hardly believe what I was seeing.

As I watched this fascinating sight unfold, my mind wandered to an unusual question: “Do animals experience something like envy?”

I know that animals can certainly display jealousy. Our dogs demonstrate that quite clearly. If one receives attention, the other quickly comes running over, determined not to be left out. But envy?Envy is something different. Envy compares. It looks at what someone else has and becomes dissatisfied with what it has been given.

So I found myself wondering. When the goose couple with only two goslings sees their neighbors with twenty, do they think, “What’s wrong with us?” Do they wonder why they have less?

And does the goose family with twenty energetic youngsters ever glance at the family with two and think, “Life sure would be easier if we only had a couple of babies to keep track of”?

Of course, I have no idea what geese think. But I know how people think. And if we are honest, many of us spend far too much time comparing our lives to the lives of others.

We compare families, finances, careers, homes, ministries, talents, opportunities, and accomplishments. We look at what others have and sometimes convince ourselves that our own blessings are somehow less valuable because they don't look the same.

Yet Scripture repeatedly warns us against this way of thinking.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:11-12, that very familiar passage where he says; “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.”

Notice that contentment was not something Paul naturally possessed or born with, but in fact it was something he learned. Through abundance and hardship, success and suffering, Paul discovered that true joy is not found in having more but in appreciating what God has already provided.

Similarly, Psalm 103:2 reminds us, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” How easy it is to forget the blessings that surround us when our attention becomes fixed on what someone else possesses.

Comparison often blinds us to God's goodness. It causes us to focus on what is missing instead of what has been graciously given.

The goose family with two goslings may not have had twenty, but they still had two healthy little ones to guide and protect. The family with twenty may have had a large flock, but they also carried the responsibility of watching over each one. Different blessings. Different challenges. Different gifts from the Creator.

In the end, the more I reflected on what I was watching, the more I doubted that geese spend much time envying one another at all. The family with two goslings is simply raising the two they have. The family with twenty is busy trying to keep track of the twenty they have been given. Neither seemed preoccupied with what belongs to the other. They are simply dealing with the circumstances God has entrusted to them.

Perhaps there is a lesson there for us. Instead of constantly looking over our shoulder at someone else's life, we should focus on faithfully stewarding the blessings, responsibilities, and opportunities that God has placed in our own care.

God has not called us to live someone else's life. He has not asked us to try to live someone else's blessings, responsibilities, or burdens. He has uniquely equipped each of us for the path He has set before us. When we constantly compare ourselves to others, we risk missing the beauty of what God is doing right in front of us.

James 1:17 tells us that “Every good and perfect gift is from above.”

Every blessing we enjoy, whether large or small, is a gift from our Heavenly Father and therefore gratitude begins when we recognize those gifts and thank Him for them.

As I finished washing the dishes and continued watching those Canadian geese, I realized that both families were blessed. One had two goslings. One had twenty. Neither family had everything, but both had much to be thankful for.

May each of us also learn to daily to see what God HAS given us, and be thankful for it!

Question: What would change in your life if gratitude replaced comparison today?

Have a great week and we’ll see you Sunday!

Pastor Dan