Counting My Blessings: Good Luck

I'm a lucky person. 

 I didn't realize this until about twenty years ago when it began to dawn on me that other people were living much tougher lives than me, often due to no fault of their own.  Yes, of course, some people were having troubles due to their own choices, but there was a whole other group of people who did everything right and still had a lot of tough stuff to get through.  Why did they have it so rough and I had it so easy? Certainly I worked hard in school and at my profession and on my relationships, but in all these areas I could point to many times when nothing but luck led me down a path to love, prosperity, and happiness.  

And then twelve years ago I hit the jackpot and had the incredible good luck of being in the right place at the right time to become the mother of a baby boy who was so perfect that Ben and I called him our "Cadillac Baby."  For quite a while I was quite overwhelmed by this incredible stroke of luck. I even saw it as a miracle.  We were older and had gone for twenty years without feeling the call of parenthood.  We had not suffered through years of infertility as so many adoptive parents do.   It was barely a year from the time we first talked about becoming parents until we held our precious little boy in our arms.  Why were we so lucky and others not?  I still don't know. 

I don't know why my life has been so abundant, so rich, so meaningful, and so fun when others experience life so totally differently.   But I feel now that we lucky ones have an obligation to recognize, enjoy and expand that good luck for ourselves and we have the obligation to do what we can to encourage it for others.  

So I pay my (many) taxes with a good heart.  I try to be generous with my attention and my smiles.   I share my talents and resources with others in ways I think are best for me and them.   I treasure what I have, taking time each day to remember and enjoy the bounty that has come my way. 

I know I can do more, but even these small steps help me remember that so much of what I enjoy has come to me solely by grace and not because I am more special or more deserving than anyone else.