I Have No Mercy (Well, not a lot anyway)

-
I'm not known for having a lot of mercy.  Needless to say, when I am in a room of people who are gifted with mercy, I annoy them.  Sorry about that.

That doesn't mean that I don't have compassion.  I really, really do.

But something happened to me the other day that really brought this to my attention.  For the last week, we have been getting home earlier than usual.  School hasn't started and the fall dance schedule hasn't kicked in yet.  So I have had some time to work on the house.  I decided to trim the hedges in the back yard the other day (there were about 6 months overdue) and I made quite a mess.  So I asked Betty and Anneka to come and help me.  While we were piling up the clippings for disposal I told my daughter that while living on the farm this was my life.  Go to school, come home and work on the farm until the sun set.  It was always a race against the sun to get the job done so there was no resting or "taking your time".  To which my daughter replied.  "Well, no wonder you don't have any mercy." HUH?  I didn't see that coming.  But after thinking about it a while, I understood where she was coming from.  In a world that comes with deadlines every day, mercy isn't a luxury that you get to afford.

Luke 6:36 “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.”

Mercy takes time.  By definition, mercy is to not give someone what they deserve.  While you may work hard and deserve a break, you don't get one until the job is done.  

Mercy takes patience. Being patient with someone while they learn how to follow Jesus can be tasking at times.  But, in the end, it is well worth it.  

Mercy takes effort.  True, mercy has never come naturally to me.  But over time I have learned how to be merciful.  I remember what Jesus said.  How you treat others is how God will treat you.  Hmm.

PRAY:  Dear Jesus, show me mercy today so I can show it to others.  AMEN  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We Went For A Walk

-
Image
Last Thursday, after realizing I forgot my wedding anniversary, I took my wife out for a walk that night.   It wasn’t just any walk, it is her favorite one.   Downtown, along the river, plus a couple of slices of our favorite pizza.   We talked about life after Covid, our daughter, marriage, and people we know and love.   It has been moments like these when I realize her resolve to be who God created her to be.   Moms need to know that.  I am saddened by our culture's ranting against mothers.  Today we hear how motherhood is a burden that you can take or leave.  Motherhood has never been a burden to Betty.  N-E-V-E-R  While it hasn’t been easy, the truth is, it has never nor will ever be easy for anyone.   Surveys in 2022 noted that moms feel overwhelmed. shorturl.at/auzH3   Covid, coupled with inflation and job instability is pouring gasoline on the fire.   What can you do? (Moms or Dads)  Prioritize and use the word “NO”.  Once you have determined that motherhoo
Read more

What A Day!

-
Image
Today is Mothers Day.  On this day:  More people purchase fresh flowers and plants for Mother's Day than for any other holiday except Christmas/Hanukkah. In 2019, the National Retail Federation (NRF) estimates that US consumers will spend $25 billion celebrating Mother's Day. Shoppers will spend an average of $196.00 on Mom. According to the Insure.com 2018 Mother's Day Index, the various tasks moms perform at home would be worth $68,875 (up from $67,619 in 2017) a year in the professional world. https://www.cnn.com/2013/09/06/us/mothers-day-fast-facts/index.html Motherhood is God's idea, and He had a great idea!  He created Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and said in Genesis 1:28, "... And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply... "   They had kids, their kids had kids, and the rest is history.  But where did Eve learn how to be a mom?  She didn't have one, remember?   I can only surmise, but I think these are good
Read more

Parenting Simplified (Well I tried to.)

-
Image
Betty doesn’t like me blogging about her too much. So let me go with one more for now and let you see a bit of her heart.  She doesn’t like the world any better now than when she gave birth to Anneka. (Neither do I.)   If you think that’s a strange thing to say, you’re right. But let me explain myself.  The idea that a child will make your world a better place isn’t accurate. Stop shouting at the screen. Just keep reading.   Before we got pregnant, both of us had enough wisdom to understand what we were doing, in as much as we knew that this would change our lives.  Would it be for the better? That was the plan.  Would it enrich our lives? We hoped so.   But to think that a child would turn our world into a magical place of perfection and joy was never a thought.   If anything, the world worked against us from day one. (Still is.) There were challenges of all kinds and new hurdles to jump. Just about the time you thought you were out of the woods, BAM, here we go again.   Betty was and
Read more