MY Mercies are New Every Morning

I wish that those words were my words. I mean MY mercies. I read this scripture: “The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies are new every morning.” Lamentations 3:22-23. I know those words are so true. I know His faithful love, His fresh mercy each morning. But, then there’s ME! What about my love, my faithfulness, my mercy to others? I want MY faithful love, MY faithfulness and MY mercies for others to never end.

I’ll admit it. My love, faithfulness and mercies falter. Sometimes I’ll get bugged because there are no cashiers in all those cashier lines and I’m standing in a long line at the only one line that is open. Then there's the lawn sprinklers that are aimed at the street more than their lawn and my clean car gets hit. And, the McDonald's drive-thru leaves out the fork and napkin for my pancakes as I drive home from Tulsa and I have to use my fingers! Argh! Sometimes I’ll get aggravated at a driver who cuts in between me and another car and I almost hit him. And, then yesterday, the engine light came on my car again, after it was in the shop all day, the day before. I had to take it in again -- another day for not getting all my errands done. To top it off, I need MY mercies for me, who is oftentimes my biggest challenge. Oh that MY mercies were new every morning!

I sincerely desire to be like Jesus. He set the example for us in the love, faithfulness and mercy departments. Clearly, that’s why God set Him as our role model. He modeled how to do it. God daily invites us to come and sit with Him and His Word (His "how to" manual) to learn about His Son’s countless ways of never-ending love, faithfulness, and mercies.

Sometimes we’re overridden with guilt about our lack of performance. We turn down His invitation to meet Him at the watering (Living Water) well. Maybe you’re familiar with some of these thoughts: “It’s been so long since I’ve sat down with my Bible. I can’t remember the last time I prayed for more than a few hurried minutes. Who am I to ask God to speak to me?”

But how wrong to think those thoughts. God isn’t keeping a spiritual scorecard to see when we deserve the right to sit in His presence and feast on His Word. His invitation has nothing to do with our performance and everything to do with His mercies and desire to fill us with His wisdom and encouragement.

My heart is overwhelmed by the example that God gives to us. His mercies are unending. And He extends a fresh, grace-filled invitation for us to draw close to Him each and every morning. His eyes are brimming with hope that we’ll accept His invitation afresh today. He knows the more we lean in closer to Him, the more we’ll become like Him. That’s my prayer today.

Make me more like You, Jesus. Give me a heart that’s filled with love AND mercy, and make me more like You! A merciful heart like yours each and every morning. Lord, have MERCY!

The Invitation Read: Bring Spouses

Last week, in a group text message, I was invited to a Christmas Party and the invitation read: “Bring Spouses”. Immediately a “little” pang hit my heart and I replied: “I wish!” Soon the “singles” started texting me love and stated, “We’ll have a ‘single for now’ section!” LOL! I was really being facetious because, with God's grace, I’ve adapted well to my "single” status.

Yes, “Single” is the box I check in “Marital Status” now if it doesn’t have a box “Widow(er)” to check. These photos are of the last Christmas we had with my Sweetheart, my children’s dad, and my grandchildren’s Papa, Christmas 2009. Then, I checked the “Married” box. Honestly, I’d trade every Christmas present for the rest of my life for 5 more minutes with my Ron on this side of heaven. I’d snuggle in to tell him everything he meant to me in those 5 minutes. My encouragement to you, whether you bear the “single” OR “married” status, is to value what's really important and convey the words of what your loved ones mean to you, cherish them with all your heart because it's not what comes under the tree that counts." Comfort and joy are ours when we embrace it.

I often speak or write about the seasons in our lives. We ebb and flow our way through the years, never feeling like we are always weak, always strong, always tired, always victorious. Sometimes we stand tall and we fight. Sometimes we go dormant and we rest. Sometimes we reflect and grow. We don’t have to be “on” every single day of our lives. But, dear friends, we should never believe when we’re down, we are destined to stay there. Life will ebb and flow and our seasons will change. The season of being a couple and bringing my spouse with me to an event has changed, but you know what? I changed too! I was willing to change and in this season, I’m embracing the change. I sit with my single friends, laugh and celebrate life with them. But I also sit with my married friends (some of whom are my closest friends), hang out with them, and even travel with my married friends. I’m not defined by my marital status and neither should you be. Perhaps being defined by our relationship status with our Lord, is the status that matters the most because, in Him, we are complete.

Yes, Christmas is so much more than all the tree and food trimmings, the gift giving and the holiday parties and programs. The original Christmas story was also about seasons. A savior was born into the world – with hope for all mankind -- only to grow up and face rejection, betrayal, and death. All that we go through, He’s been through. Our hurt and our joy, He knows it. After enduring death on the cross and three days in the grave, our hope rose again.

Those of you who are hurting deeply this holiday season, I am so sorry, and I pray in the midst of your pain, you’ll find many moments of hope and joy. Make the moments count with loved ones. Turn your sadness into gratitude for those in your life, still on this side of heaven. Give them the gift of you putting on a "garment of praise" instead of having a spirit of heaviness. Let's be full of joy and resolute determination to be "present" with them. What a wonderful gift to give those around us when we can offer "sacrifices" of joy in the midst of this season. We might find them in the beauty of a Christmas tree that lights a darkened room or in the kitchen with our kids or grandkids icing cookies. Maybe we’ll experience a moment of satisfaction enjoying a meal and conversation with loved ones. We may even feel a glimmer of hope at the sound of Christmas carols, the warmth of a fire, or the sight of our children unwrapping gifts. It’s tender moments like these that will sustain us.

And next year, when we’re in a new season, we’ll look back and say, "That pain almost did me in, but because of God's grace there were moments where I saw Him. Those glimpses of joy reminded me of what life could be. It’s because of those moments that I not only survived but thrived. Don't let pain rob you of God’s small graces and tender hugs and embraces. Keep your heart settled on the good news of comfort and joy!