New Mercies

I begin praying in advance about each weekend in the ward, often days in advance - simply out of necessity. I cannot boast. The longer I walk with Jesus, the more aware I am of my frailties and my complete and utter inability to love and serve without Him. After a long, busy week, my selfish humanity wants to hide in my house, unplug the phone, and cruise Pinterest. I love being with the mamas, holding their babies, and sharing that precious time with them, but sometimes getting there is HARD.

I have to begin preparing my mind and heart in the days leading up to it. I have to ask the Lord for His grace and wisdom and joy, for the insight to see needs, and the courage and ability to meet them. And some weeks, I plead for energy and focus.

I never, ever regret going to the ward. Regardless of how I'm feeling or what craziness the week has thrown at me, I always leave more in love than when I arrived. But I certainly cannot take any credit for that. I've shed more tears over those mamas and their babies than I can count. There have been days full of death, stoic pain, and huge questions about who God is, yet when I get home, the love is still there, entirely given by God.

Oh friends, the Lord wants us to boldly go before His throne with our needs. He delights in our weaknesses because He makes His name great through extending His grace to us. Never does He expect us to muster up the strength to serve Him but instead, He tells us that we are not enough, calling us out in truth. What a wonderful place to be. Exposed for what we are: broken and helpless...but held. What freedom and what joy in being known! In that place of not enough, He fills every corner and crevice in perfect sufficiency.

These days, I feel like I am approaching the Throne of Grace on all fours; I'm just laying my head on His feet in weariness. And then He unfolds upon my heart passages like this one.

"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding." Eph. 1:7-8

First, that delightful word "lavish"... Soak in that for a minute. It immediately makes me think of riches, excess, and something beyond compare. God did not simply give but He gave above and beyond, without reservation. A passage in Romans says that He "poured out His love into our hearts..." What a lovely phrase!

Second, I am known with a perfect knowledge that only God possesses. I am understood completely and intimately by my Creator God and, in that indescribable wisdom, He still gives His redemption, forgiveness, and grace for each day; brand-spankin' new each morning - a supply of everything I need, never exhausted.

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

Be encouraged sons and daughters. We are deeply understood in perfect knowledge. Even more precious, we are given the right to approach God in all our ugliness and neediness. And in the midst of the beauty of that truth, we are rejoiced over! As His children, we are given the privilege of drawing from the rich store of His grace. And when we don't have the strength to draw it, He pours it upon us.  

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."  Hebrews 4:14-16

Wherever you're serving today, whether it be in the far-flung corners of the world, or over the stove in your kitchen, be assured that your Father has exactly what you need and is ready and willing to give it.