Travel, it turns out, was THE great educational experience.

Money was especially tight then because when I was 9, my mom’s dad killed himself leaving her brothers and sisters without any living parents. My grandmother had died two years previously of lung cancer.

My aunts and uncles (mom’s brothers and sisters) were 12, 15, 18, and 20. I was the oldest of three with two more showing up in the next two years, and soon to be the middle of nine kids..

That could have been an unbelievably difficult time for any family. And frankly, most would have split up the four aunts and uncles to other families.

Dad wouldn’t hear of it.

Of course, they would come live with us. We’d make room. And tighten our belts. And find a way.

We always found a way.

A few weeks ago, we were at dinner with a couple of friends who bowed their heads to say grace. I heard them say, “Dear Lord, thank you for all our blessings. Seen and Unseen. Amen.”

Seen. And Unseen.

If I would go back through this article with a red pen to mark all the things that were unseen blessings, the page would look like a bloody murder had been committed here.

Red ink everywhere.

As I get older, I’m so thankful for the unseen blessings in my life. Unseen blessings are those things I don’t see or think about, but are continuing to work in my favor. If I demanded to know about all my blessings all the time, I’d short-change myself.

Three beautiful kids. Ten grandchildren that I don’t see nearly enough. And the most amazing supportive and loving wife/partner anyone could have.

And if I look at all the “problems” in my life over the past 70 years, I can’t find one. They all look like blessings at this point.  

The unseen blessings are a hundred times more important to me than those I see everyday. They are the blessings that protect me (mostly from myself) and bring me good.

And I want all the good. 

But I have to be careful about good and bad. 

Years ago, I read a translation of the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, and one line stuck with me. 

“There is no good or bad, but labeling it makes it so.”

I’ve stopped judging whether something is good or bad. Whatever happens can be comfortable or uncomfortable, peaceful or challenging, rewarding or heartbreaking. 

Those are momentary feelings.

But declaring it good or bad would mean that I can predict the future. I can’t. Good or bad is the result of something happening now. If I try to assign good or bad, I’m not living in the moment, so I’ll miss all the sweet juice of life.

Of course, I can impact the result by doing what I think will lead to a good or bad result, but I have no way of predicting the outcome.

For that, I must rely on the greatest gift of all…Unseen Blessings.

If you have Unseen Blessings that you're grateful for click one of the share buttons on the side of the page and comment below to tell me about your unseen blessings!