"Stand up and go; your faith has saved you." -Luke 17:19

I remember a friend who loves to count her mistakes and mishaps instead of her blessings. Early in the morning she complains about the heavy traffic, the lagkit feeling in the jeepney and the exhausting stairs. When she commits a mistake in a quiz, she nags at herself and punishes herself with harsh words like "grabe ka tanga ko uy."

She lives & complains every single day. And what does it make her? It makes her into a degrading-negative person. 

Because of this, she closes her mind from all the Wonderful little and big miracles that pass her by like:

Being able to ride a jeep despite the busy morning. That was something to be thankful for.

Having complete body parts and being able to walk and climb up the stairs. That's another thing to be thankful for. 

She correctly answered some questions from the quiz ... Plus she can now learn from the mistake she committed. Another thankful moment.

But sometimes, were like that. We like to punish ourselves and pinpoint our flaws and count what we do not have.

We have forgotten to be grateful for every blessing God has given us.

In the gospel, the main point isn't about God being good and giving. That's already given. GOD IS ALWAYS GOOD & HE ALWAYS LAVISHES US BLESSINGS. The point here is that we have to learn how to be TRUSTING, HUMBLE & GRATEFUL.

Just like the Samaritan Leper, we need to trust God that he will always give us THE BEST. We need to trust that God has everything under control. Always.

Second we need to be humble. Without humility, we are unable to become thankful. We must acknowledge that all that we have isn't only because we worked hard for it. But because God wanted to pour these gifts to us because he loves us that much. ("Not by your acts, but by Grace")

Lastly, we must learn to accept that every good thing comes from God and be grateful.

Just like the leper who "realized he had been healed", May we always continue "glorifying God in a loud voice,  fall at the feet of Jesus and thank him."

So, I hope you won't be like my old friend who counts her misfortunes. 

That old friend of mine is long gone because she's a changed person now. Thank God, she realized that kind of life wasn't good for her anymore.

She is now living each day as if it was a miracle. And indeed it is.

"COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS AND MORE BLESSINGS WILL COME."

-Leizel Mae Taton