I’ve read online the stories of at least four Americans missing in yesterday’s horrific terrorist bombing in Brussels. Two are an American married couple living in Brussels, who had taken her mother to the airport after a visit for her return flight to the USA and the other two a brother and sister who were returning to the United States from a trip abroad. No one in their families has heard from any of them since the bombing at the airport. I pray that by now they’ve been located and that their families know they are safe. It must be hell to all those involved to wait upon identification processes and release of information, especially for those whose relatives were visiting Belgium. And it must be utter chaos there, for the responders and those who witnessed the mayhem. I pray that all those who were lost have been located and/or identified. I pray for the families and friends of all those who perished, and all those who were injured to be surrounded by God’s healing grace, mercy and love. Just a trip to the airport (or subway) proved to be devastatingly life-altering for so many people.   

We have to start viewing our lives through a spectrum of blessings, and not just because of horrible acts like this but every single day! To be alive and to have life, to be surrounded by comfort, to be rich with the love of the dear souls who fill our hearts, to have our health and well-being . . these are all true blessings for which we should be grateful anew each and every single day! All it takes is just one reminder to see how quickly life can instantaneously change . . a tremendous loss, an unexpected tragedy or a simple fateful choice can alter everything. Being consciously aware and grateful for our lives as they currently are is truly a way to give not only our own lives more value but also to give the lives of others that same worth.  

None of us will manage to get out of this life unscathed! It’s a fact that we will suffer, be damaged and feel pain, whether physical, emotional or both! But in our living this life, we can choose to control our reactions and responses! We can look at things as blessings, feel gratitude and be thankful for everything which fills our lives and our hearts. We can choose to not let life pass us by filled with remorse, negativity or with any other emotion our reactions to things evoke! Life is precious, we know this within us. It is merely a matter to choose to be cognizant of that fact each moment of every day so that we don’t grow complacent, feel regret or miss opportunities to appreciate what or who is already around us or near us. Complacency is forgetting some thing’s or someone’s importance! Regrets are the nagging reminders of our complacency. And opportunities are often much more valuable and rare than they may seem. Life is precious. Live your life knowing, understanding and believing that with all your heart! Love your life and love the lives of others too.