Mercy Over Me

I love that God uses day to day situations and people to reveal His attributes to me. This week, what I saw most was His mercy. I like how one writer describes mercy:

Mercy has to do specifically with God's characteristic attitude toward people who are in trouble. It is God's pity for those who are miserable or suffering or needy, and helpless in their situation; but it includes more than just a feeling of pity, for his mercy has his rescuing power behind it. Out of God's mercy he rescues from difficulty; out of his mercy he saves the powerless; out of his mercy he heals the sick.

I have been planning on re-doing the first floor of my house. By re-doing, I'm taking about everything from new paint colors, some new furniture, new carpet, new wall decor, curtains, bamboo shades, matching accessories like kitchen towels, and so forth. It's no small matter and won't be cheap. Through the course of planning, I caused friction in my home where it didn't belong. While Nathan encourages me and has supported the project, I was 'pushing' to do the project on my own timing, without trusting Nathan's and ultimately God's timing. I realized Sunday that anything that causes tension in my home instead of making peace doesn't belong; the project simply wasn't in God's timing. It was time to put things on hold.

One item that I did purchase awhile back for this project was some canvas wall art. I had a sick feeling about owning it and let it sit on my mantle for the evening. It didn't even match; it was meant to be returned. I looked everywhere and could NOT find the receipt for the life of me. But, the store, World Market, I thought was good about giving store credit when you don't have a receipt.

We got to the store and the cashier asked for the manager's help with the return. The manager realized it was art and said that they give store credit for anything EXCEPT art. It hit me that I was now stuck with a large piece of art that was also a lot of money, and did not match my mantle which would not be changing. The tears started flowing down my cheeks. I was going to have to tell Nathan that the money was simply wasted. The manager said that if he called corporate that maybe they could find the receipt for me but the task sounded daunting and not promising at all. He collected my information and could see the stress on my face. I thanked him as more tears flowed while trying to muster a small smile. (by the way, I'm not one to cry to cashiers- this was out of the norm!)

I went back to where Nathan was shopping and told him the news. My heart sank, telling Nathan that they would not take the art back.

Then, out of no where, the manager (props to Brett!) came up to me and told me that it was the cashier's first day on the job and basically what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her. :) I thought it was funny that it was her first day; she'd always remember the crazy lady who cried over a return. He handed me a card with the full amount of store credit on it. He wanted nothing for it and really kept his deed in secret. He payed me in full when I didn't deserve it. I cried again because I was so thankful, relieved... and ultimately I was seeing a picture of God's mercy on me. It's undeserved. It's part of God's goodness. So tender, so sweet.

As Thanksgiving approaches, I am reminded this week of how thankful I am for God's MERCY over me!