A couple of weekends ago, I had the opportunity to gather with my sisters, mother and cousins in sunny Phoenix, Arizona, for a mini-family reunion. We had a chance to catch up on the happenings in our cousin’s lives since we were last together almost fifteen years ago. Many changes had occurred and it was wonderful to meet their now grown children and grandchildren. We also had time to reminisce about our childhood and our grandmother who played such an important part in all of our lives. She was a real character and we all had funny stories to tell about her escapades. But the overwhelming sense we had was that she knew how to make each of us feel special and loved unconditionally. She was a real blessing in all of our lives and our lives have been made richer just by her presence.
What does it mean to be a blessing to others? When I looked up the word blessing in the dictionary its definition was “the act or words of one that blesses” and the synonyms were “approval or encouragement.” To bless means, “to invoke divine care for” but it also means, “to confer prosperity or happiness upon” someone. How then does one become a blessing? In the case of my grandmother, she brought happiness into the room when she came. She was fun loving, would express direct interest in us, and wanted to spend time with us doing even the silliest thing that we wanted to do as a children. I remember one time when she let my cousin Debbie and I dress up in her best dresses. We were about 12 years of age. She even helped us put on makeup and let us parade around like we were fashion models. Looking at the picture that was taken of that day, we look a bit silly and the clothes really didn’t fit at all, but that didn’t matter. We felt special because of the time grandmother had taken with us.
In Numbers 6:22-27 God gives Moses what is known as the priestly benediction to be passed on to Aaron and the other priests of the time. Most of us have heard this blessing before:
The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make his face to shine upon you,
and be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
In the Protestant tradition, we affirm the priesthood of all believers. That makes everyone of us a priest, a minister with the power to bless others. And blessing others in the name of God is a very powerful act. Who needs to hear a word of blessing from you today? How can you encourage them with a word or just your presence? You can do this with a phone call, a card or a visit. This can be done even in your own prayer time as you lift them up to God, imagine them surrounded with light and bless them in the name of God. May you all feel God’s blessing in your life today!
