When someone has been around you, they will leave either being blessed or not. A blessing is something that communicates that a person is loved and unconditionally accepted just the way they are! This blessing can come in a spoken word, a touch, a look, or a simple action. Something that says “You’re OK and I like being with you.”

All people need to be blessed. The most important place to find a blessing is in the home. Many are living without being blessed by others (most importantly, their parents) and many lifelong struggles have resulted. Some live their whole lives trying to be accepted and loved.

A free-lance reporter from the New York Times was interviewing Marilyn Monroe years ago. She was aware of Marilyn’s past and the fact that during her early years Marilyn had been shuffled from one foster home to another. The reporter asked Marilyn, “Did you ever feel loved by any of the foster families with whom you lived?”

“Once,” Marilyn replied, “when I was about seven or eight. The woman I was living with was putting on makeup, and I was watching her. She was in a happy mood, so she reached over and patted my cheeks with her rouge puff... For that moment I felt loved by her.”

Marilyn had tears in her eyes when she remembered this event. Why? The touch lasted only a few seconds, and it happened years before. It was even done in a casual, playful way, not in an attempt to communicate great warmth or meaning. But as small an act as it was, it was like pouring buckets of love and security on the parched life of a little girl starved for affection.

All of us long to be accepted by others. We may say, “I don’t care what other people think about me,” but on the inside we want to feel loved.

Jesus is the perfect example of one who blesses others in communicating love to them. He lets people know they are important. They can find acceptance with Him. God says “You are important and I care about you.” “I know all about you and I love you.”

The ultimate blessing is found in salvation as Jesus died for us so that we could be forgiven and have a place in God’s family. We must accept His death for us and give Him our lives to receive this ultimate blessing.

Having been blessed, God then expects us to bless one another. When God first called Abraham, He gave him a specific promise. In Genesis 12:2-3 God said to Abraham: “I will bless you . . . and you shall be a blessing.”

God blesses us with the intention that we, in turn, bless others. Next time you see someone, do something so that they will be blessed from being around you.