This summer has brought many new experiences for me… not the least of which revolve around a building project in our back yard. My husband, Michael, is building a workshop where he hopes to begin building custom guitars. I suppose, if you’ve read my blog you know a bit about it already.
I’m learning to trust in a completely different way – trust in God’s provision, His plan, His mercy. The things I’ve read about and sung about at church my whole life, I am now living in a truly surreal, and unexpected way. I didn’t realize I would meet Him this way, this summer, in my backyard-turned construction zone.
There were the holes, which I wrote about a while ago. That was at the beginning of the whole ordeal.
There was the two ton mountain of river rock, which I moved shovel by shovel.
And then, there was another lesson… I should probably tell you the story…
We were roughly two months into the project when Michael ordered materials that we needed to continue with our progress. At the time, being inexperienced as we were, we had no idea there would be setbacks, dilemmas to be solved and bad weather. A month later, I stood with Michael at the counter, where we had ordered the materials. and we hoped, we almost begged for mercy. I’ve never felt quite so helpless.
The young girl, who stood looking at us didn’t know. She didn’t know the money at stake or all of the details running through our minds. But we needed the store to hold our materials just a bit longer. PLEASE. We would be ready for them soon, just not yet. All our hopes pinned on this young girl’s touch of a button – yes or no.
I thought about it, afterwards – How often am I merciless? Not knowing someone’s situation, or their heart? I make choices, I judge – and with one word, change their life or their hope with one sweeping yes or no. Looking back, I can think of so many times when my heart was completely void of any mercy. If I’m going to be Christ-like, I need to be full of compassion and mercy to those around me. Whether I think I know the whole story or not, I need to give the very mercy I’ve received from the Heavenly Father himself. He is merciful even when I don’t deserve it, even though He knows each and every one of the reasons why He shouldn’t be. If His mercy is rich, then I am the daughter of a millionaire – and as a result I have more than enough to give away.
Well, the girl at the counter chose yes. Everything came together, at just the right time. Materials were delivered when we needed them and not a day before. And now – there are walls going up. and a roof to follow soon.
Every time I look out my kitchen window on the workshop that is going I up, I think of this verse from Ephesians 2:4-5
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)
daily portion 