I have given a lot of thought to this trending tag on social media, and its surge of use in popular culture made me wonder what it truly means to be blessed. Sure, it’s a great day when you wing an assignment and you end up earning an A or when your parents deposit money into your bank account, but when we say we are #blessed, how much are we counting those things? Better yet, are we?

People in first world countries are notorious across the world for taking things for granted and abusing privilege, and from someone who lives in a first world country, I find myself guilty of it sometimes as well. Whenever I see this hashtag next to a Tweet or an Instagram picture, I think to myself, “What am I being blessed with today?” From the ability to buy food on campus to spending a night in watching Netflix shows with my suitemates, the little things add up and, if we think about them, can make us realize how truly blessed we are.

What about the times when we don’t feel so blessed? When we feel that our world is falling apart around us, and we are trapped in the middle of our world waiting to be buried beneath the rubble of bad decisions and failed attempts to be better? Even on those days, you will always be blessed with one thing: God’s love for you. If you keep Him in your heart, He will never leave or fail you, though you may not understand His reasoning at times.

We go through life always aching to have all of our questions answered on the spot. Instant gratification seems to be the norm in modern day society, but there are times in our lives where the answers we seek are unclear for a reason. These times frustrate us and test our patience and resilience, but if there is anything that I have learned in going through my life and waiting, it is this:

Trust in God, and He will show you the way when both you and He are ready.

God teaches us to wait for good things to come because they hold more value when given on special occasions, and if we go through life always obtaining good things, the blessings God grants us really aren’t blessings anymore. We never grow into better people if we do not go through times of heartache or distress, and in the times that we despair, we must fix our eyes to God and ask for his companionship and blessing.

We must have a slow and steady heart that is rooted in the ideals of our Father if we should hope to make a holier life for ourselves. In college, especially, it is hard to resist temptation when it is abundant all around us, and we can lose sight of God when our parents don’t drive us to church every Sunday morning and make us read the Bible before bed. This is part of growing into a Christian life. Our parents planted the seed, and now, it is our responsibilities to either help it grow or allow it to wither. If you believe in Christ and love Him with all of your heart, the choice should be easy.

Even if you don’t read scripture every day or attend church every single Sunday, always remember the things that you have and who really gave them to you. I am seeking a higher education, I have friends and family who love and support me, a man who loves God and inspires me to love God in the same way, a car to take me to church on Sundays, and a brain and heart capable of learning and adopting the fullness of Christian livelihood. I have been rooted in His words and teachings, and I continue to do so through my transition into an independent adult.

Each day, I look at my life and think of the good and bad things that happened over the course of the day, and I think to myself how each one of those things was granted to me for a specific reason, even if I didn’t know what that reason was. I am not concerned with what I do not have, for I may have it in the future, and it does not concern me what others have. My biggest priority is treasuring what I do have for what it is worth and realizing how truly #blessed I am.