Blessings beyond Chance ~ Day 37 of 40

Armodoxy for Today: Blessings beyond Chance Day 37 of Lent

While its tempting to the end Lenten Season by saying we are winding down, if you’ve done the Lenten practice properly, this week we are most definitely winding up the season in preparation for life-beyond-resurrection! Part of that wind-up is redefining what we understand as articles and definitions of faith.

Think of the word blessing. We say we have received a blessing. Or, we may say a person’s life is blessed. We refer to blessings in the same way as we refer to luck. If you hit a lottery or a jackpot on a game of chance, people say that you are lucky! If disaster hits your town or an illness threatens your wellbeing, it is understood in the same manner, that somehow luck escaped you or the events are in the unlucky camp.

Today I ask you to think of the blessings you have in your life. As part of the wind-up for the end of Lent, take an inventory of all the blessings, by thinking about the lessons of Lent. Begin with the most obvious blessing that belongs to all our followers. If you’re listening to this podcast, it means you have an internet connection, you have electricity, you own some type of device that transmits the signal to you. Perhaps you’re in your car driving or have ear plugs that are piping in my voice in stereo to your receptors. Merely the fact that you’re listening to this puts you at an advantage over a large selection of the world’s population who consider you “blessed” because of your access to this technology. Now, leave the material realm and think of the friends and family who are around you. Some friends are closer than family, some family members can be best friends. Consider the priests who prays for you, the physician that cares for you, the teacher or coach who teaches you, the neighbor who looks out for you. Now, move out of this temporal plane and think of God, unconditional love, that wraps around you, that is inside and outside of you. Think of Christ and the anointing you have received to be able to tap into your inner strength and potential. You are able to look beyond the crucifixions that you encounter and find the resurrection ahead of you.

You are truly blessed. Now let’s redefine a blessing as luck, without the element of chance. This Armodox understanding of blessing becomes part of your new perspective on life.

Your act of charity today is to share a blessing with someone. Fast from expressions of luck, rather find the blessing of God in all that you do. Artichoke risotto awaits you on your Lenten dinner table, with the recipe at the link below.

We pray, I thank you Lord for the blessings you have bestowed upon me. May I find the blessings of Your presence at every turn in my life. Whether looking at the seascape, the flowers that bloom or the life that is around me, from the delicate butterfly to the precious child, may I praise you for the blessing of life. Fill me with a spirit of gratitude and happiness so I may share these blessings with others. Amen.

Lenten Recipes by Deacon Varoujan: Recipe 37: Artichoke Risotto

Cover picture: Vehapar extends a blessing by Fr. Vazken, 2005