Counting Blessings

This is the time of year in which many pause to count their blessings.
This year we here in Southeastern Michigan (and maybe a few others as well) have one very special blessing to include in our gratefulness. It is a blessing unique to us and also a blessing that could easily be ignored or forgotten.
So, rather than risk having this blessing passed over, I want to draw attention to it, throw the spotlight on it.
Let us not forgot the great blessing that we uniquely have in our little corner of the world.
Let us not forget to count among our greatest of blessings the Detroit Lions!
OK - go back and read that last line again.
You are reading correctly, seeing accurately.
One of our greatest of blessings, especially in a year like this would be the Detroit Lions.
Think about it.
How many households and families were fretting the approach of the holidays, especially this year?
How many households were even questioning the feasibility of hosting a gathering, a family dinner, get-together?
Name a topic and it likely ran the risk of exploding any hopefully civil holiday gathering into a verbal tug of war or worse.
Talk about politics? Boom!
Talk about refugees? Boom!
Talk about climate change? Boom!
Talk about Church? Religion? Boom! Boom! Boom!
Find a safe topic? Go on and just try.
We seem to be living in a time when any topic seems loaded with potential to blow any situation into arguments beyond control.
Neighbors are divided. Families are divided. Political parties seem equally divided. Churches are divided.
And it is not just a matter of simple disagreements and varying viewpoints.
Almost every topic seems loaded and ready to explode.
So we could have faced trying to gather and talk about -- well, nothing really.
That is until the Detroit Lions came along.
Now we have a safe topic!
In our neck of the woods we can all talk safely about the Detroit Lions.
And there is really no danger of raised voices because we can all agree.
They stink!
What a blessing they are to us!
They have provided us with a safe topic for our holiday gatherings!
Just mention the Detroit Lions and everyone in the room will come to almost instant agreement.That one great disappointment has become our special holiday blessing.
They have brought us together in a true sense of unity.
We can all agree - They stink!
And that unity can hold . . .
that is unless someone dares to say,
"But wait until next year!"