Little Moments of Mercy

If I do not intentionally notice and rejoice in the little moments of God’s mercy and kindness to me, I end up drowning in self-pity or despair and my heart gets tangled up in resentment and cynicism. So here is an unfinished list, which was started before Thanksgiving, of some of the ways I am noticing God’s “little” mercies, primarily in the context of caring for our recently adopted (and disabled) daughter, Anah. I share this as an encouragement to you to make your own ongoing list, but also as a discipline to remind myself of God’s faithful presence even in the midst of difficult times.

These are some little moments of God’s mercy:

  • Receiving an unexpected phone call from my sister (who also has a child with Down Syndrome)—being encouraged by someone who I know truly understands what we’re going through.
  • Having two primary care doctors who love Jesus and are very generous with their time, and who were even willing to make house calls to do some of Anah’s initial assessments.
  • During our homeschool group PE class, having another dad hang out with Anah so that I could play Capture the Flag with the older kids.
  • Walking this road of adoption and special-needs with 3 other families, and sharing warm hugs, many tears, and encouraging words together.
  • Experiencing strangers who engage with Anah and tell her how beautiful she is (rather than shying away in uncomfortableness).
  • Communing deeply with God on a Sunday morning through the worship songs “Jesus, Thank You” and “All I Have is Christ”.
  • Enjoying a couple hours of “respite” at home while another family took all four of our kids to the park.
  • A 20-minute bath for Anah, in which she played happily without making the usual flood of water on the bathroom floor.
  • Meeting a kind lady in the line at the Costco optometry department, who let us go in front of her to order glasses for Anah.
  • Having a gracious receptionist at our primary care doctor’s office, who knows our family by name and goes out of her way to deal with insurance complications and make all the needed arrangements for the many referrals for Anah’s care.

To be continued…because God’s little (and big) mercies are new every morning…

In Him,

Pastor Dan

Dan Christian