Tender Mercies
Luke 1:77-78 “…to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God.”
Before I sat down to write this, I took a deep breath of relief. The kids have all been put to bed, with only one little curly head popping his head out once or twice. The dishes are washed from supper; the laundry is clean and lay in a large, neat pile ready to be stored away tomorrow if all goes as planned. Our schoolroom is nicely set up and organized, ready to receive not one, but two students this home school year (as well as one eager 2 1/2 year old ready to join in at his own whim).
A long week of intense planning has birthed an hour-by-hour schedule of our day, which begins at 6 am for Mom and ends at 10 pm. My day will consist of devotions, exercise, housework, schoolwork, creative lunches, playtime, quiet time, cooking, nap times, chaos, disciplining kids who chose that they would rather make up their own schedules, and then there is everything else that can go wrong. Whew! And that is only half of it!
Not only have I completed an hourly schedule (ever so well intentioned), I have completed a job chart for each of my children, as well as a monthly meal plan complete with a grocery list detailed enough to rival Martha Stewart, And a day by day home school planner for each child. Sounds like a good plan right? We will see.
I did not mention all of these things in order to receive praise, criticism, sarcasm, or just plain comparative envy, I mentioned these things in order to express to you God’s grace in my life. You see, when I was first married at a ripe young age of 21, I thought I had a pretty good plan. I loved God with all of my heart and I loved my new husband, almost just as much. I had prepared for marriage by watching and helping my creative father at the stove, and the rest? Well, love would fix all of that. Little did I know what awaited me.
I knew I had married a very neat and orderly man, which was one of the things I liked about him from the start, I just didn’t expect him to want me to be the same way. When he asked me for about the thirtieth time if I would please hang up my clothes, and to only use one glass at a time, and for pity’s sake, put things away after I was done with it, I began to get the hint. I was a slob. I was always late, never neat, sped by my tasks as quickly as possible in order to get it over with and get back to my reading just as fast.
My first meal made for him was chicken paprika. I had never tasted it before, but it looked easy enough. He took one bite and promptly spit it out. I cried. He laughed. So much for my pre-marriage cooking preparations.
Now, ten years have passed and I am happy to tell you I am much more organized than I ever thought I would be, I am cleaner, slower, and a good cook. These lessons of life were not easy to learn, but they were a privilege to learn. Privilege, you ask? Yes. I have had a long road of learning- the hard way, too long a story to mention now, but a privilege nonetheless.
The reason I am able to share this is because of one thing. The cross. The Lord’s mercy has consumed me. It has shown me that I am a sinner in need of Him. Nothing I do, nothing I am is of my own merit. And my life is proof of it! But every time I am tempted to get discouraged by my weaknesses, and my indwelling sin, all I need to do is look to the Cross and know that the grace I received on Calvary is the same grace that will sustain me today. Where much grace is needed, much grace is given and for this I am able to say, I am a living testament of the Lord’s Tender Mercy. May it be for you as well.
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