Morning By Morning New Mercies I See. . .

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23


Exactly one week ago from today I arrived in Lilongwe, Malawi after a safe 40-hour-long journey! And now, exactly today began my new teaching experience as the middle school math teacher at ABC Christian Academy for the 2009-2010 school year.

Something that I've been pondering a lot today is just how merciful God really is. Because of His mercy I have eternity to spend with Jesus, spared from the fires of hell! And in Christ, I have countless spiritual blessings and an amazing inheritance (Ephesians 1). Therefore, any other mercy that comes to me in this life is a mercy on top of the greatest mercy ever bestowed! So even if God didn't shower me with mercies as I travel, mercies as I teach, mercies of providing for me a God-honoring family, food, clothing, and shelter, etc., He would still be more merciful than I could ever fathom. It really is unbelievable, unfathomable mercy. . . like mercy to the power of infinity! ;)

But sometimes I find myself so ungrateful, or unaware, even, of all of the extra little blessings and mercies around me.
Ultimate evidence: Today my alarm clock goes off at 5 a.m. I jump out of bed, and race to the light switch so I can see. I flick the switch and nothing happens. Flick it again, and still nothing. "Oh great", I think. . . "Of all days -- the first day of school -- for power to go out." And what's convicting? I can't believe I'm more concerned with the electricity than thanking Him for the greatest mercy already given to me: namely, the gift of His Son. . . And while relishing in that, I could have thanked Him for those extra mercies like electricity, the bed that I jumped out of, the working legs that jumped out of the bed, the law of gravity which ensured me landing on the floor. . . the floor itself, my brain which allowed me to think of what to do. . . I could keep going but you'd never finish this blog posting. Seriously.

Another day full of those extra kind of mercies in addition to all that we already have in Christ. . . 7 - 8am: Greet new students and parents -- gracious, friendly people! They love checking out the new middle school building, so I meet several meandering through my classroom!
8-8:15: My classroom is declared homeroom for the seventeen 8th graders. I get to pray with them and help them start their school day! I love the 8th graders. Well-behaved? Yes. Hyper? Definitely. Fun? Absolutely.
8:15-9: 7th, 8th, and 9th graders come into my classroom in separate 10 to 15 minute rotations. First, introductions! I really want to get to know the students. A good place to start would be learning names. I have them write their names on the whiteboard and stand underneath so I can get pictures of faces with names! The thirteen 7th graders are shy as this is their first year in middle school. 9th graders are all tall boys! But, they're OK with that and remain respectful.
9-10: Final school assembly in the gym. . . and then dismissal.

First day of school is already over.
Short day and teeming with extra mercies.
I love the kids already.


May we thank God first and foremost for the Cross and for all the spiritual blessings that we have through Jesus!

And while doing so, may we remember to thank Him for all those extra mercies, too; like, electricity and well-behaved children.