Counting Blessings by Kerry Blair

Several months ago I learned a beautiful lesson from one of the sweetest people I am privileged to know. She taught me about problems and elephants. Yes, that seems like a strange combination but when she explained it, it worked. I learned that problems can be just like elephants: it’s all in the perspective. Even the smallest elephant, held in front of your eyes can become huge and block out everything else around it. Big elephants cause the same problem. Every problem needs to be part of a bigger perspective. If all we ever look at is our elephant, then we miss out on everything else in our lives and in the lives of those we care about.

She was discussing a very difficult elephant in her own life. At first, my heart broke for her. Then, she taught me about elephants and asked those of us who would read her words to help her keep her own elephant in perspective. She asked us to remember that she was more than her problem. She asked us for elephant jokes. My time reading her words started with tears of sorrow and ended with side-splitting tears of laughter. I’ve never read so many dumb elephant jokes in my life. I found a few favorites and a greater love for my friend.

I had Kerry Blair’s latest title on my “to read” list because I loved and respected her. After learning about elephants, I was eager to sit at her feet once again. I soon moved that book from “to read”, to “bought”, to “read” and I loved every minute of it.

Have you ever wanted to have a dear friend take a soul-baring chocolate brake with you? That’s what reading Counting Blessings by Kerry Blair feels like. Her sweet, wise spirit radiates out from the pages and covers your own heart with a comforting blanket of love and testimony. Each essay shares an intimate look at the issues many women face, through the eyes of Kerry. It’s a great place to gain perspective of your own elephants and the blessings hiding behind them.

You can open her book to any chapter and find yourself being gently taught and inspired. It’s a true joy to experience and I highly recommend it for those quiet moments when you need a little chocolate, a gentle touch, and council of a wise woman. Whether you’ll begin with tears of understanding or laughter, I can’t predict. What I can promise is you’ll find both experiences in this special little book: Counting Blessings.

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