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Upright mobile and blessed has become my everyday answer when someone asks how I am doing. It comes out so naturally that I barely think about it, but it is more than a catchphrase. It is muscle memory. Every word in that little line carries something sacred. Upright means I woke up. Mobile means I can move. Blessed means I still see the good in all of it. That truth alone is enough to start every day on steady footing.
I tell people I say thank you to God three times every morning. The first thank you is because I woke up. That one is simple but never small. I know people, family and friends who never woke from sleep, and each sunrise reminds me that life is not guaranteed.
The second thank you is when I look over and see my bride, Mary. She is proof that love still outlasts everything that tries to wear it down. and lastly, I rise, and i am blessed. I know people who cannot get out of bed, and that reminder keeps me grateful before I ever pour my first cup of coffee.
Living upright mobile and blessed
The world keeps chasing what is next, louder, or bigger. Somewhere along the way, I learned to chase what is enough. Being upright mobile and blessed does not mean life is easy. It means I stopped measuring my worth by what I accomplish and started measuring it by what I notice. Every morning that I can stand, breathe, and love someone beside me is proof that grace still works the night shift. Gratitude, I have learned, is not an emotion. It is a practice, a choice to see the sacred in the ordinary before the day tries to talk you out of it.
There is a meme I share now and then that says, “Dear God, thank you for this beautiful life, and forgive me if I don’t love it enough.” That line cuts through everything. It is a gentle correction to my own heart when I start complaining more than thanking. It reminds me that beauty is still here, waiting for me to notice it. Every sunrise, every cup of coffee, every small kindness is an answered prayer disguised as routine. Gratitude is not the finish line of faith; it is the first step that makes faith possible.
Some people wake up chasing the day. I wake up learning to receive it. That is the quiet gift of living upright mobile and blessed. Each thank you builds another mile of peace under my feet. Even on the days when the news is heavy or the world feels cold, those three thank yous keep me warm enough to try again. Faith and Good Courage were never meant to erase hardship; they teach us to walk through it with our eyes open and hearts soft.
That is what Faith and Good Courage stands for, real stories about people who still find light in ordinary places. Gratitude does not need grandeur. It just needs attention. When I stop long enough to say thank you, I start to see God in every small corner of my life. The truth is simple: if I am upright, if I am mobile, and if I am blessed enough to recognize it, then I already have more than enough for the day ahead.
✨ Roadside Reflection:
Gratitude does not wait for miracles. It finds them in the ache of ordinary life. Every morning I wake, I thank God for the chance to stand, to move, and to love the people He’s given me. Those are the basics, and they are enough. I have seen what happens when people lose them, and I never want to forget the weight of that grace. Gratitude is not a feeling; it is a decision to live awake. When I say I am upright, mobile, and blessed, I am not bragging about comfort. I am testifying that faith still carries me through the small hours, one thankful breath at a time.
Read more Journal entries: Faith and Good Courage Journal
Learn more about gratitude and faith: Greater Good Science Center