One by One, Count Them
One of my indirect mentors pastored us at our previous church for a little more than ten years. Even though we no longer attend Second Presbyterian Church and even though he is retired, I still consider him a close mentor of mine. He isn’t even aware of it. Sounds a bit strange, possibly. I consider him in such regard, however, because I return to his teachings and sermons regularly. Similar to how our current church preaches, he would preach through an entire book of the Bible over a span of time (expository preaching). I’d select a sermon series to listen through…in the car on the way to or from work or on a solo walk/ruck…and sit under his teachings.
As I listened to a sermon earlier this summer, he invited the congregation–especially the 40+ year olds since it was an older hymn–to sing along. He began to sing Johnson Oatman, Jr’s words, and I could hear some folks in the background of the speakers join in:
“Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your blessings, see what God has done…”
It was a sweet moment. The refrain stuck.
Fast forward to July’s beginning. Our family’s monthly memory verse is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
For our family devotionals, we read (scripture), sing (a praise song), and pray together. Oftentimes, our selected song comes from the collection from each kid’s worship binder; sometimes, we introduce a new song for the month. Oatman, Jr’s refrain sung in that old, recorded sermon kept ringing in my ears though no music was playing.
God the Father sent His only Son Jesus to give us a new record (His record), a new heart (of flesh, life), and a new Home (Heaven) – that’s a blessing to count that fully displays what God has done! So, Oatman’s song became our praise song for the month.
It was sweet timing. With kids or not, summer days can tend to get long, and at times, filled with unnecessary reasons for complaining (too bored…too hot…too etc). I would often be leading the charge in this. But what’s a remedy for such a heart-set?
“Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your blessings, see what God has done…”
All this led to another blessing this month that I’m counting and seeing what the Lord has done. The first time or so of singing Oatman, Jr’s song, together, seemed incomplete. It seemed un-whole, if you will. It was just off. It reminded me of what James writes about in regards to being doers of the Word, not mere hearers. “We’re singing this song about counting our blessings, but we are not actually counting our blessings…we’re singing this song about seeing what the Lord has done, but we are not actually doing it,” I reflected. It was good ‘ole lip service.
This led us to actually doing what Oatman, Jr wrote about: counting our blessings…seeing what the Lord has done. We found an empty mason jar; cut notecards into smaller pieces; and grabbed a pencil. Boom. There’s this little blessings-jar with the proper equipment for us to count our blessings; to see what the Lord has done.
Throughout the month, the jar has slowly filled up with small pieces of paper. Throughout the month, there’s been more gratitude. Throughout the month there’s been sweet hummings of Oatman, Jr’s refrain. This jar-thing might just be something that sticks and persists.
Isn’t it neat how the Lord works? We have not always sung hymns, together. We have not always memorized scripture, together. We definitely haven’t always counted our blessings so intentionally as this month, together. But God has been gracious through it all, as we draw near to Him. It’s been sweet to count these blessings, seeing all that the Lord has done.
If you and your household don’t read (scripture), together; sing (praise songs), together; or pray, together; I encourage you to start today. It might be awkward or silly at first – that’s okay. Keep it simple. And as you draw near to the Lord, He will draw near to you (Js. 4:8). Take Him at His Word. No matter the season. It’s not easy to start and it won’t be easy to persevere. Get started and keep it simple. Maybe even start a blessings-jar and see what the Lord has done. What a way to acknowledge Him in His ways; what a way to lean on Him and praise Him, together.
“Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your blessings, see what God has done…”
Written by Warren M. Grimm