Run to His Mercy — Unfathomable Mercy

Photo by Reza Madani on Unsplash

Praise be Jesus Christ, now and forever! Praise be His Most Merciful Name!  Praise Him Who was, Who is, and Who is to come!

Thank You, God, for Your Mercy!  Thank You for Your comfort and consoling.  Thank You for always being present and constant.  Thank You. 

We are sorry, God, for the times we reject Your Mercy.  We are sorry for the times we “get in your way”.  We are sorry when we forget that You are God and we are NOT.  

Recently while I was praying my rosary, I had a very vivid memory from an instance when family life was a reflection of God the Father.  The instance was over 15 years ago, my second daughter was about three or four.  We were at Mass in our hometown.  My daughter and her older siblings were walking up to the front of the church after Mass when the priest, deacons, and altar servers handed out children’s bulletins.  All of a sudden, this daughter burst into tears, turned around and ran straight to my husband into his waiting arms.  He comforted her and held her through the final blessing.  She never could express what happened or why she was crying, but my husband just held her until she was comforted.  

The lady that was sitting behind us approached us after Mass nearly in tears herself.  She said that as our daughter was crying and running to my husband, it was as if she was running to God the Father.  It impressed upon her just how our relationship with God the Father should be.  She asked if our daughter told my husband what was wrong.  He replied that our daughter hadn’t said anything.  

The memory prompted me to write in my journal that no words are necessary for God to console us in our time of need; we only need to run to Him  just as my daughter ran to my hubby.  

We do not literally “run” to Him or to His Mercy, I reflected during my time in line for confession recently.  On this day our family set aside to come to confession – His Mercy — we didn’t run.  We drove, parked, genuflected, knelt, sat, and waited in line next to “strangers” with something very real in common – the need for Mercy.  

I don’t know anyone with “time to spare,” so to willingly set time aside to wait for His Mercy is no small sacrifice!  On this day, the lines for confession were extremely long.  It is both beautiful and frustrating to me, a fallen imperfect and impatient sinner.  I am so spoiled!  The knowing He has unlimited Mercy and is outside of time BUT distributes that Mercy through limited time and people seems to always frustrate me because there is a space, a chasm, a veil between the reality of His unlimited perfection and the reality of the limited imperfections of this world in which we live.  

In this space where I so easily frustrate, what is He trying to teach me?  Is it the beauty of the imperfect seeking He who is Perfection?  Is it the opportunity to sit with Him in a seemingly mini- retreat from my day to day? If God is in the waiting, in the frustration, in the imperfect — it is all beauty, so why am I frustrated?  

It is because I forget that He is God and I am not!  It is because I forget that my to-do list and plans are not more important than His!  Maybe He has a reason for this space; maybe it is so I can get out of God’s way.  

By the end of our wait, I was less frustrated.  He had gently disciplined me to accept His will, His way, His timing.  We did not make it through the line, but I nevertheless received His Mercy in a way I did not expect.  The next time we tried for confession, I was less frustrated in the space, and I pray I remember that every time He gifts me with waiting.  

How has God disciplined you lately?  Has He taught you anything through a memory or long line?  How do you wait?  How do you “get out of God’s way?” What lessons have you learned in the space, the chasm, the veil between this world and the next? 

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