4 Valuables That Make Your Life Rich

I am arguably the most blessed person on the planet. I often forget this but several things happened this week to remind me.


1. grandchildren. Cathy and I had as guests all week our oldest grandchildren, Nia and Zion Rodgers. These are two totally excited and smart children. Ne is 9 and Zi is 6. By comparison they are at least 1 1/2 smarter than I at their age. Cathy was totally enthused to have them for the week. I less. But the week was a blessing to me beyond what I expected. I taught Zi to ride his bike and 1/2 way tie his shoes. The latter may seem not be a big deal. But try it yourself. There are about 8 steps to shoe tying when you think it through. Also Ne and Zi showed me that their parents are doing a good job in teaching them good eating habits. They love fruit and salads, and veggies. The importance of this may not be so evident. But they had a doctor a few years ago that "fired" their parents. I think that he felt that they were not paying enough attention to the nutrition of their children.

2. wife. My wife Cathy loves things. She is an acquirer of sun glasses (more than a dozen pair), clothes (3 closets), purses (at least 20), and expensive luggage (she collects LV). Yet Cathy is not extravagant. She economizes on other things to balance the scale.

But more important than loving things, Cathy loves people. She is a person that follows Jesus Christ's commandment to "love your neighbor as you love yourself." Cathy loves herself, but not in an egotical way. And Cathy loves me unconditionally. But if that is possible, I think that she loves our grandchildren more. There's a Bible verse that says it's better to live on the corner of a roof than in a house with a nagging wife. Cathy does not nag and this may sound like a pollyanna statement. She makes our house a castle -- for me. Some may think that she is a "rug wife", i.e. somebody that you walk on. But that is not true. Cathy stands her ground but in an humble way. It's hard to explain. But she conducts herself in a way which makes you feel embarassed if you don't return her love. She doesn't make you feel embarassed but her demeanor makes you feel embarassed. I said it was hard to explain.

3. health. I'm blessed with very good health. Thank you Jesus. Most times people like me take feeling good for granted. Today Cathy and I made a hospital visit to a relative of ours who has Krohns disease and suffers from frequent blood clots. Her name is Tarsha Grimes and I would like you to pray for Tarsha and also her family, husband Tom Grimes and children Jaron and Kevin. They are members of the Potter's House, pastored by T. J. Jakes. They are people of strong faith. Tarsha recently spent 6 months in the hospital from Dec. to May. She went through some ordeals that most of us have not experienced nor imagined. Then she was released only to return a few weeks later because she swelled tremendously with fluids and had several blood clots. Tarsha said today that her doctors said that her body had 60 pounds of fluid buildup. My God. Then her major doc said he wanted to perform a procedure that had a 1 in 100 chance of succeeding. However, if they did not do it she would surely die. Tarsha said she was very scared, of course, but she said to her doc, "doctor, do you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior?" She said the doctor said, "Yes." So she said, "let's do it. You, I and Jesus will do this together." And she lived through the procedure.

4. friends, family and clients. Cathy and I celebrated the 23rd anniversary of our business with a July 4th appreciation for our friends, family and clients. Almost 100 adults and children turned out. We had plenty of food, fun and fellowship. The economy, employment and finances are a great challenge for all of us this year. We thank God for blessing us with enough overflow to continue this tradition of honoring and sharing with those who have contributed to our success.

Do any of these 4 examples above strike a cord with you? Do you have anything you would like to acknowledge and give thanks to God for? If so, please share your experience or testimony in order to help somebody.