Yesterday I received a surprise package full of goodies from my dear friend, Jenny. She’s been an amazing cheerleader for me during my battle with infertility. She lives a few hours away, so I don’t get to see her very often, but she often sends me encouraging emails, notes, or Facebook messages. It was such an unexpected treat to come home from work and see a box from her on my doorstep!
I’m going through a Bible study by Beth Moore and one of the chapters talks about community. She says, “Our fellow God-chasers challenge our stale prayer lives and loosen the latch on our locked down thanks. When we’re tempted to claim that God has not been good, their very presence begs to differ. They are mercies of God stuffed in crude human form imprinting decent memories on a difficult time.”
Now, I’m not going to call Jenny “crude,” but she is definitely a mercy of God in human form! And her thoughtful gift indeed gave me decent (I’d say more than decent!) memories during a difficult time.
During this season of waiting for our next round of treatments, I’m going to try to be more aware of the mercies of God in my life- whether it be through circumstances or people. I want to be reminded that God is still good!
I’d also like to challenge you to BE a human form of God’s mercy for someone going through a difficult time. You don’t have to send a package like Jenny did. You can send an encouraging email or text, or perform a random act of kindness for someone. Or perhaps you can leave a thoughtful comment on one of the blogs linked up below.
How have you seen God’s mercy in human form in your life? What are some ways you can BE merciful to someone right now? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
I am so happy your friend blessed you like this, Lisa! We all need encouragement in our individual journeys, as each heart is dealing with its own sorrow and battling its own issues. It is so wonderful to be a part of the body of Christ and to have those in our circles who care enough to do such thoughtful things as Jenny did for you! Everyone needs a friend like her. So grateful for your post and the encouragement to reach out…sometimes reaching out to someone else is the exact antidote for our own suffering. God bless you.
Thank you, Cheryl! I am blessed to have a friend like her, indeed.
Snail mail and packages are the best! How sweet!!!
Sometimes reaching out can seem so very crude. For I while I didn’t know how to do anything except get on my knees every blessed day for you. But then I realized that I can do something for my friend. I’m not a super person with words, I’m too far away for a crying shoulder, but I can remember to not say the dumb things and just be an encourager and prayer warrior for you. I can laugh at your awesome texts and not be shocked. I can learn all I can about this disease. I can let you run the gamut of emotions and be comfortable feeling them with you. We can be real. I love my friend, Lisa. I really really do.
Love Beth Moore. I also recently did a bible study focusing on one of her books.