“Your father’s blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills.” Genesis 49:26
The description in Genesis of Jacob blessing his sons gives us a great opportunity to ponder the significance of blessings. There are many people in our world who hunger for a blessing from others and especially from their own father and mother. They are often people who become marginalized in some way due to sickness, life choices or because they are poor.
When a father offers a blessing to a child, as is described in the old testament story of Jacob, a message of approval is given in a way that speaks well of the person. Too often, in our work places and our families, we find people who are deprived of approving messages.
We have been immensely blessed by the presence of a resident and his wife who have been part of our center for six months. We have to keep reminding ourselves that we are the ones offering care to them when we walk into this resident’s room. It is common to walk into the room and quickly find that we become the ones being cared for and blessed by this resident and his wife.
My heart was warmed by a story that his wife shared with me about this beloved resident. She said that our resident, friend, recently had his family all together and called each of his children and grandchildren to his side one at a time. He offered each one a blessing. There was one child that could not be present so they recorded his blessing for her. She plans to use the recording at her wedding.
May we be inspired by the example of this family to offer blessings to our children, grandchildren, friends and co-workers so that this can be a better place to live. Blessings from our family and friends help us to become blessings to others. Who do you need to bless today?
“A blessing is a circle of light drawn around a person to protect, heal and strengthen.” – John O’Donohue