New Mercies Every Morning

Last night I was overcome with sadness. I kept thinking about all that we would miss of our child’s first year of life. We will not hear his first cry or see his first smile or get to cheer for him the first time he rolls over. We probably will not know the details of his birth, and we can’t make sure that he is fed and kept from harm in those early months. These thoughts and more were weighing down my heart, and I was a little scared of how much I already love someone that I’ve never even seen. It is so hard to be in control of so little. Yet this morning I was reading the account of the crucifixion in Mark and was reminded of a few very important things. How quickly I forget what was so clearly demonstrated in the death and resurrection of Christ.

1) God loves me more than I could ever imagine. We never have to doubt His love because He proved it once and for all by dying for us. Not only does He love me, but He loves our son, and He loves him much more than I am even capable of loving. Although we won’t be there in his first months of life, God will be, and who better to care for him and protect him than the One who created him and loves him most.

2) We serve a powerful God. Not only does He love us enough to care for us, He is powerful enough to do so. He has overcome death and has made a way for us to be with the Father. There is nothing that He cannot do. He is all-powerful, and He has proven that He chooses to use that power to act on our behalf.

3) God uses what seems like our darkest moments to bring glorious light. What did the disciples think when Jesus was crucified? They had to be upset, possibly wondering if they had got it all wrong, not understanding why Jesus would not get down off the cross when they had seen Him perform so many miracles. Yet what they didn’t understand, and what I always seem to forget, is that God is always there, working in ways we can’t imagine, taking what seems like a hopeless situation and using it to accomplish His perfect, redeeming plan.

-Heather