A Reflection for Myself

Am I still truly grateful for all the countless blessings that God has bestowed upon me? Yesterday, I was asked to stop by the Intensive Care Unit to review a patient who was lying intubated in bed. He was too weak to speak and was breathing through a ventilator. He could only open his eyes, nod, and move his fingers in response to my questions. He had suffered multiple traumatic injuries after being involved in a collision with a lorry in the early hours of the morning a few days earlier. Many of his bones were fractured, including those in his face and around his eyes. It was heartbreaking to see him lying there helplessly. I could not help but think of his family and his young children waiting for him. He had once been a professional with a stable career, but before the accident, he had been working as a food delivery rider to support his family. Today, I returned to see him again, but I was too late as he had already been taken to the operating theatre for further surgery. I managed to speak briefly with the nurse caring for him. She shared that yesterday his young daughter spoke to him over a video call: "Daddy, where are you? I've been waiting for you at home for so long." She continued, "Daddy, why aren't you talking to me? Are you sick? You promised you would come home and buy me a toy..." Her innocent cries went on, unaware of the gravity of her father's condition. May God grant this patient a swift and complete recovery. May He reunite him with the family who loves him dearly and continues to wait for him with hope and longing. May we all constantly remember and appreciate every blessing that God has granted us: the blessing of time, strength, good health, the ability to breathe, the gift of sight, the ability to speak, the ease of earning a livelihood, the provision of food, the companionship of our families, and countless other blessings that are beyond enumeration. May God protect us from ingratitude and from becoming among those who misuse these blessings in ways that displease Him — the very One who has so generously bestowed these blessings upon us.