I've wrestled this week with what to write. Nothing profound or inspiring has come to mind, partly due, I'm sure, to being somewhat overwhelmed with life at the moment. As I was reading during my quiet time this morning, it struck me that surely there are others who are swimming in deep waters, and might just find encouragement in what encouraged me.
The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. (Lamentations 3:22-23). The writer of my devotional reading this morning referenced this passage, and then remarked that she finds that worrying gives her the illusion of control ... that a lot of days it feels easier to worry than to trust. She obviously has been spending some time inside my head!
She went on to observe that with all her worrying, the one thing she never frets about is whether or not the sun is going to come up in the morning. And with each new sunrise, God promises fresh, new doses of mercy. It's a sure thing!
I recall talking with my mom shortly after 24 hours of labor and delivery with our oldest daughter. One of my comments to her was something along the line of "no one ever told me how hard this would be." I'm sure she smiled and replied with the quiet wisdom she seemed to always possess. As we went on to have more children, and raise and homeschool them, I recall similar conversations with good friends. "No one ever told us how hard this would be!" On the tail end of that statement we would invariably smile at each other and say "We really should write a book."
It came to me again this morning that while my mother has never written a book with pages and covers, she most definitely has written a book in my life. And I (and you!) are doing the same thing, every day, as we love and raise and parent and teach our children. While this season of life no longer has me actively parenting my children, I am now in the position of "parenting" my parents. It is a difficult and often exhausting season, but I am encouraged that each morning when I awake, there is a fresh supply of mercy waiting for me. And while I doubt that I will ever write that book, if I did, God's mercy would surely be the recurring theme throughout.
Please be encouraged as you start your day today, in whatever season you find yourself ... as sure as the sun rose this morning, God's supply of mercy is brand new for you as well.
Still on the journey,
~Judy Wnuk
