“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.” Psalms 103:8 NIV

“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10b NIV

We had a lot of rain this past week. The creeks, waterfall and pond are all overflowing with water. It rushes downhill and overflows the banks and carves out new paths. When I saw the waterfall, it made me think of God’s love and blessings in our lives.

In this first verse, the Bible tells us that the Lord loves us with abounding love. Abounding means large amounts and plentiful, just like the waterfall abounding with water. In the second verse, Jesus tells us that He has come to give us life to the full, holding as much as possible, no empty space, just as the waterfall was full of the white water. What awesome promises! God and Jesus love us in “large amounts” and want us to have a full life.

God loves us and wants us to have good things. Sometimes He gives us big blessings, like a mom and dad who love us, brothers and sisters, and a best friend. Sometimes He gives us small blessings, like a bird singing outside our window that makes us smile, a sunset full of color that makes us ooohh and aaahh, and a playful puppy that makes us laugh out loud.

God touches our lives in ways we don’t even realize or think about. But the Bible also tells us that, “every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights” James 1:17 NIV  All the good things in our lives are blessings from God.

This week we are going to go on a blessing exploration. Get a small glass and set it in a pan or dish (to catch the overflow!) Now get a small pitcher and fill it with water to pour into your glass of blessings. Every time you think of something good in your life, a blessing from God, pour a little water into the glass. Your parents can help you think of some of your blessings if you are having trouble getting started.

I’ll start with my blessings as an example. My mom and dad. Pour in a bit of water. My husband. More water. My children, Sarah and Seth. Some more water. Traveler, our black lab, who was healed. More water. Hummingbirds chasing each other around the feeder to make me laugh. More water. A doe and her speckled fawn running through the woods. More water. Reading my favorite book. More water. My glass is already overflowing, and I have so many more blessings from God.

Try your own blessing exploration with your mom and dad. Have fun as you realize all the blessings from God, in your abounding and full life.

Overflowing love and blessings!