Infinite Mercy

Author's Note:


So this one time, I prayed for humility. And God, in His infinite wisdom, decided that instead of simply giving me this grace, He would provide an opportunity for me to grow in humility -- in and through my own freedom. See, God made my heart, so He knows it better than anyone, myself included. He knows that I am a sucker for beauty, and that when I experience beauty in my life, I HAVE to share it with others. (Just ask anyone who ever checks my Facebook status!) So a few weeks ago, God gave me THE MOST beautiful day -- honestly, it sticks out as one of the year's best! -- BUT in order to share this beauty as my heart demands, I must humble myself and admit to my own selfish haste, my severe impatience, my general unpreparedness... things we all struggle with, but which take a little humility to admit publicly. 


But, as always... beauty wins my heart, and I must share! (1 John 1:4) 

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In a conversation a few weeks ago, a friend brought up the fact that she sees even the smallest, most ordinary happenings -- like hitting all the green lights -- as God's mercy in her life. Sure, God shows His love in an abundance of ways, and in the grand scheme of life and all of creation, green lights are really not all that important. But as she pointed out, the gift of arriving at work on time and starting the day off in the correct mindset instead of in a hurried rush of chaos... there is mercy in that.

A few days later -- Friday -- it was my turn.


I bustled out the door, threw my bags in my car, jammed the key in the ignition, and groaned as the clock on my dash mocked me. I was running late... later than I thought. As I pulled onto the highway, I was lost in my own thoughts and prayers. The day's schedule, my weekend plans, details for a service project in the works, news on the radio, a friend who was recently laid off... Then I glanced in my rear-view mirror and saw a car following me pretty closely. But not just any car.

All my thoughts instantly shifted. I glanced down at my dash as I tapped my brakes. I didn't know how fast I was going, but I knew it was too fast. So did the red and blue flashing lights behind me. "License and registration, please..."

As the trooper ran my information, I prayed, asking Mary to help me remain calm and focused. (Okay, there may have been a little plea for a break in there, too... but honestly, I mostly prayed for my nerves and the proper perspective.) I was surprisingly calm. Disappointed in myself, yes. But I knew I was at fault, and even as I hoped for mercy from this police officer, I knew I deserved whatever was coming my way. (Thanks, Mary!)

After the trooper handed me my warning (MERCY!), I continued cautiously to work. Much to my (happy) surprise, I actually found myself thanking God for using the police to slow me down instead of a terrible accident or any other number of things (MERCY!), and for gently reminding me that I am not nearly as important as I seem to think. (MERCY!)

Somehow, I hit almost all the green lights with minimal waiting (MERCY!) and arrived at work only 5 minutes late (MERCY!) despite my late start and added roadside delay.

As I walked down the hall, the mercy continued to flow. God was reminding me that this did not need to ruin my day! (MERCY!)

First, it was a stream of many happy greetings, and friend who told me she "had my back" if anyone gave me grief for wearing a shirt supporting my favorite team (even though they had lost to the local favorite a few days earlier).

Then I realized I hadn't yet purchased the beautiful Christmas book I simply had to have from the book fair -- which was scheduled to close in 2 minutes. As I bustled into the library, I saw a volunteer beginning to pack up the books. "Luckily," she was still one row away from packing up my desired book. (MERCY!) I tried to be patient as the child in front of me counted out his Ziploc bag of quarters at the register -- but the parent volunteer saw me glancing at the clock. "Do you need to get to class? You can just pay me and I'll ring it up later as a miscellaneous purchase." (MERCY!)

I hurried back to my classroom to set up for the day. In my classroom, we only occasionally use our folding chair desks... of course, today they were needed. But the morning announcements were extra long (MERCY!) -- just long enough for me to finish setting up every single chair.

I won't bore you with the rest of the details of my day. (MERCY for you, perhaps!) But God's mercy was definitely overflowing in my life -- and I was made quite aware of the abundance!! In every circumstance, He reminded me that He was there with me, guiding me and teaching me, walking with me along the way. From the dean of students who randomly came to work on my computer during a difficult class (and provided the disciplinary backing I needed at the moment) to a large early response to that class service project, I felt His mercy flowing down on me all day.

Even though it was, at first glance, quite a difficult day, I felt supremely blessed with the grace to see the wondrous love of God poured out through the trials. Who knew that a day with so many "wrong" circumstances could end up as the most beautiful day of my week??

May we all be attentive to God's infinite mercy flowing in our lives!


Mercy is falling, is falling all over me... and you, and you, and you, and YOU!! :)

(Word cloud created at wordle.net using the text of this post)