Mercy Said No!

Image by Michael Sarver via FlickrI just held a stranger's hair out of her face while she threw up a mojito, projectile vomit style into a red bucket at Au Bon Pain.

Context: Tonight, I was meeting a friend for late night coffee when a very drunk young lady met us at the register as we purchased our herbal tea. God had been preparing me all day to meet this young lady. Montages of my disobedient past had been flashing through my head earlier that day. Freshly recalling the memories of the compromising situations I put myself in, bad choices with men, unwise use of substances for temporary pleasure, made my heart tender toward this young woman and the hundreds of other college and teenage kids rushing past the glass window of the coffee shop. The situations I put myself in did not yield this particular consequence, or many other consequences I could have been subjected to, not because I was better, or more virtuous than  this young lady, but because of the grace of God alone.

Love letter #32: Love is a two way street

I came home too late last night to make my post appointment for the day. I felt as if I broke a promise, and was sad for not holding up my end of the bargain. Although last night was the first night that I totally missed completely, but it had been happening gradually: I started posting just after midnight to make my self imposed "deadline", then after 1am, and then finally last night, I missed it all together.

It seemed o.k. at first-- after all, no one really cares if I miss a day, or if I post a little later.  But I should. It is a reflection of the same slippery slope we often find ourselves in with sin. It usually starts with something that seems harmless, maybe fudging the line a little bit. It seems like everyone, including yourself, excuses your behavior because it isn't horrible, matter of fact is is expected. However, it is clearly not what you set out to do and is not meeting the standard you know you should be attaining. Then it becomes easier and easier to drift away from the place where God would have you to be.