Each year, I catch myself anxiously anticipating the season of Autumn and the month of October.  Their arrival always brings much joy to me.  There are simply so many things to love about the month of October.  A few of these things include the football season, the cool nights, the leaves turning colors, and the grass dying (less mowing for me!).  Those are just a few things that come to mind when I think of October.  As the year begins to wind down and the days grow shorter, I find myself reflecting on all the good Lord has blessed me with throughout the year.  When I sit down and really take a moment to think about all I have been blessed with, I am absolutely overwhelmed.  As a kid in church, I used to listen to the adults sing all the old hymns and they eventually became ingrained in my memory.  The funny thing is that it wasn’t until I was much older that I realized that the lyrics in those old hymns contain messages that are timeless and words that speak so eloquently of God’s love for us and his promise to us.  A perfect example of this is the old hymn “Count Your Blessings.”

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,

When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,

Count your many blessings, name them one by one,

And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Count your blessings, name them one by one;

Count your blessings, see what God hath done;

Count your blessings, name them one by one;

Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.

                 My late grandmother was a remarkable lady in every sense of the word.  Looking back, I saw the love of Christ mirrored through her in many ways.  She truly allowed Christ to use her as his hands and feet, and as a result she was a blessing to so many people over the course of her lifetime.  One of the things she would do was bake pies.  When someone was sick, or had just moved into the neighborhood, she would deliver a pie to them.  When delivering the pie, she would simply say “God loves you, and so do I.”  When I happened to be visiting, she would often take me along with her to deliver those pies.  Through this simple act of kindness, she was a blessing to many.  As the body of Christ, we have many chances each day to be a blessing to others.  This month, I hope that we can spread the love of Christ by simply smiling at someone, giving them a hug, offering a word of encouragement, or simply taking the time to show a person that we really care.  Be a blessing to someone, and remember…Count your many blessings, see what God hath done!