"Achooo"!!! "God bless you!"

They are like Siamese twins! Like, bread and butter!

Do you ever wonder why? "God bless you!" is a common expression addressed to a person after he sneezes. We cannot just help but utter the line, even if the person who sneezes is a total stranger!

There are many legends or explanations for it.

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One legend holds that it was believed that a person's heart stops beating when one sneezes. And the short prayer or expression was meant to ensure or remind the heart to continue beating after the sneeze.

Another historical explanation says that the "custom" originally began as an actual blessing by Pope Gregory I in 590 A.D. At that time, an outbreak of the bubonic plague was spreading towards Rome and sneezing was thought to be an early symptom of the outbreak.

Thus, during that time, anybody who sneezed was given a short blessing to ward off the disease! Saying the short prayer, "God Bless You", was thought to have been effective. Thus, the "custom"!

Today, people say "God Bless" as a habit or as a sincere prayer for wellness for those who sneeze, with the belief that a sneeze is a symptom of some sort of illness.

With the onset of text messaging and emailing, a lot of people end their messages or letters with "GBU", an acronym for "God Bless yoU".

This calls to mind something similar. A devout Christian once said that we should not shorten the word "Christmas" to "X'mas". And the reason he gave was that Christ should not be "reduced" to an "X". Since then, I have been very conscious about not ever using the shortened word for "CHRISTmas".

In like manner, perhaps it would make sense to refrain from making the word "God" simply be a letter "G" when texting the phrase "God Bless You". And may "God Bless You!" be a short, simple, and powerful prayer that means any or all of the following:

"May God bless you... with His favor; with your heart's desire; with happiness; with success; with good things; and with a peaceful and contented life, etc."

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My dearest co-texters,

In this "dog-eat-dog" world that we live in, and have to survive in, it is breathe of relief to hear strangers whisper and wish someone a sincere "God Bless You" in whatever circumstance.

The words are simple and cost nothing. But listen intently, and the words echo positive feelings!

1 Peter 4:10 says, "God has given each of you some special abilities; be sure to use them to help each other, passing on to others God's many kinds of blessings".

As everyone else is called to be a blessing to us, we are called to be a blessing to others!

And as you bless others with your blessings, may God Bless You!

*for feedbacks and comments, pls. text the author at 0917-5064759 or email him at "mydearest_sunstar@yahoo.com"

Do you believe that you have been given gifts, talents, and resources, not for yourselves, but for others?

Thus, when we send text messages, may we end with a short, but beautiful and powerful prayer, "God Bless!"! This could mean any or all of the following:

"May God bless you with His favor; with your heart's desire; with happiness; with success; with good things, etc."

My Dearest BLESSED Reader, God Bless!