Top O’ the mornin’ to ye!

Another holiday is upon us & my best laid plans to do something cool to celebrate have failed. Planning for holidays is actually one of my weaknesses. Each year I insist I will think up something cool to do with the family. After all, my grandfather was from Ireland, so it’s in my genes! But once again, the day is here and I have no plan in place, except to cook up some corned beef.

Yet as I think about what St. Patrick’s Day means to me, I realize that it’s not the decorations, crafts, or goodies that matter. As with every holiday, there’s more to it then material items.

This holiday is a reminder of the importance of passing on a blessing.

I love reading all the different Irish blessings each year! There are so cute. Or sweet. Or funny. Even if it’s not your heritage, you can enjoy the poems and pass them on. But the Irish weren’t the first to practice the concept of blessings.

Blessing originated from God – it was his idea. Many passages in Scripture talk about God blessing his people, people blessing God, or people blessing people.

According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of bless is:

·         to make (something or someone) sacred or holy by saying a special prayer

·         to ask God to care for and protect (someone or something)

·         to provide (a person, place, etc.) with something good or desirable

Blessing is not something that’s talked about much these days. I love that every Sunday when class is over our pastor sends us away with a blessing. He’s inspired me to pay more attention to blessing.

And yet today, as I thought about the fun Irish poems I was reading, I wondered:

When was the last time I went out of my way to bless someone?

The other day I met with a girlfriend and we swapped work stories over a cup of coffee. We both realized we’d been dissatisfied for several weeks and lamented over the complications we were facing. A couple days later she informed me that she’d worked it out; she had been miserable at work because she was focused on herself. She used to go to the office every day with the intention of putting a smile on someone’s face. Lately, she hadn’t bothered. Her lack of attention to others had affected her attitude.

Scripture is clear that we are to put others before ourselves. It’s easy to get caught up in our lives and forget to be kind to others.

This St. Patrick’s Day, and all through the year, let’s live determined to bless others!