Tuesday was one of the better Valentine’s Days I’ve experienced. We did not make any real plans due to a busy schedule, but we celebrated that we would be able to spend most of the day together which is always a blessing. After teaching a class and completing the work in my morning office hours, I was able to join my wife for a little time in the afternoon. It was then I learned that our son made plans for himself and our evening appointments needed to cancel. Suddenly, we had most of the day to ourselves. What an unexpected blessing.

Life is full of unexpected blessings which we can savor if we are willing to open our spiritual eyes and be attentive to what is happening within us as well as around us. Even in challenging circumstances, there are windows of beauty and reasons for thanksgiving. Jesus told his disciples that he would be with them always, even to the end of the world. Such knowledge is itself, an unexpected blessing.

These blessings are all around us, but they require attentiveness to see them. Certainly, some blessings are so large, so obvious, that we cannot help but perceive them. The majority, however, do not shout for our attention. They enter our lives unannounced and often pass by with no acknowledgement, leaving us unable to rejoice in thanksgiving for another divine gift.

So, how do we position ourselves to taken more of these blessings? Here are a few suggestions:

1. Slow down – everything around us in our culture, encourages us to live at a frenetic pace that makes it difficult to take in much of anything. Over-full schedules leave little room for anything else. Slowing down, even a little, gives our minds and spirits room to breathe in the goodness of God.

2. Make time to reflect – Along with a slower pace, scheduling time to pause and reflect, allows us to examine our lives for hidden blessings. Making this choice may be a hidden blessing in itself and will certainly give us intentional moments to appreciate things we would otherwise miss.

3. Live in the present – This is my favorite, and I believe the most beneficial. Too often our minds are on thing in our past, or concerns for our future. Our thoughts and attention is focused on another time than the time we are living. This kind of distraction is amazingly stressful and nearly prevents us from seeing the blessings that are happening all around us. The past is just that, past, and the future will be there when we get there, but this moment is where we are and we will never have it again. If we live in the moment we are in, there will be so much more to appreciate, and we will be more free to do just that.

Here’s to the awesome gift of hidden blessings waiting to be discovered. May God grant us the grace to find more and more.