Intentionality: Appreciating God’s Compassion

 
Psalms 145:9

April 20th 2019 is a special day for my family. My grandmother had turned 100 years old and the mayor commemorated the special occasion by proclaiming the day “Effie Smith Black Day.” I was so excited for her. Excited the future birthdays and future Effie Smith Black day celebrations. Unfortunately, I’m writing this post sitting in front of her gravesite. 

Only 18 days into 2020, my grandmother decided to leave us and the Lord obliged. Selfishly, I wanted her to stay. Not because she could do anything for me physically or financially. Her mere presence was enough. Her calm demeanor and most definitely her sense of humor. I prayed God would give her her will to eat back...her will to live back. But she’s gone and in January I couldn’t understand why. 

Around two months later, this pandemic began to rear its ugly head and a certain word kept popping up in everything I would read and watch. 

Compassion. A word that could be translated as kindness. Or gentleness. Or mercy. Much needed mercy. 

I can’t help but think of how worried I would be if my grandmother was still here during this crazy. Maybe it was His compassion for her health. His compassion for my family’s sanity...that made God move the way He did. As Grandma once reminded me, “His thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are not our ways.”

It made me reflect on other times God has shown compassion in my life and ended up with a long list. Maybe this time will cause you to do the same. Those times when God answered (or even didn’t answer) in the way you expected. I used to think it was just Him not hearing me, or not understanding the way I thought He should. Now I see it as an act of compassion. 

Knowing what’s coming, He acts on our behalf...if we appreciate it or not. For all of us. The saints and the sinners. 

Personally, I think no humans display compassion more than grandmothers. Gentleness...kindness...mercy. Whether we deserve it or not. 

So during this isolation, I’m learning the art of being grateful for God’s compassion in every area of my life. Recognizing His compassion in everything He gives...and even the things He takes away. 

I pray you do the same. 

Oh.....and love and appreciate your grandmother(s) if they’re still with you. If not, bring honor to their legacy. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

When You Look Forward to the Future...

Image
Isaiah 43:19 I celebrated a birthday over the weekend and have officially been in my 30s for three whole days. And the one big thing that I have found is a change in perspective. It’s slowly been creeping up on me the last few months of my 20s, but I’m embracing the change day by day. The big word of the year?!?!? GRATEFULNESS!!!!!!!!!! I remember fellow family members, friends and classmates that didn’t make it to 30. That fact alone is nothing short of sobering. It makes you aware that life is truly God’s gift and my being alive is on purpose and for purpose. Not only grateful for that, but for the amazing opportunities God has set before me, past and present. In my 30s, I see myself taking more risks. I’ve said it in my blog before, but I feel more confident so it bears repeating! 😊 I’m frequently reminding myself that I am now a risk taker and plan to take advantage of all the good opportunities coming despite how qualified I feel for it. To help me, I found myself j
Read more

When It's No Longer A Prayer...

Image
Matthew 7:7 Today marks a year since I published my very first post! First, let me thank God at how amazed I am to still be writing. Not only have I grown in persistence, but I’ve also been able to see how much my mentality has changed. I have a deeper understanding of purpose, and how it’s important to find it and how impactful it is for you and your environment.  This blog in a sense has become “rough drafts” of my prayers to God. It’s where I happen to share the things that’s happening in my life and the things I want to happen in my life. Then I pray and I meditate and I wait and wait and wait and wait and…..you get the picture. So I was completely dumbfounded when I was presented a solution to a problem I had been praying about for years. Today I interview for a new position in a totally different field than I’m currently working. A field, more importantly, that correlates with the field I studied and attained not one, but two degrees for. And do you know what I had
Read more

Intentionality: Affirmation Of Validation

Image
1 Corinthians 3:10-11 Personally, I like S.T.E.M. (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects more than the English or Literature. In S.T.E.M., you’re presented with a problem and your objective is to provide the solution. I loved the fact that in most cases, there is only one solution and there’s a clear cut method to get to the solution.  The more advanced you get in those subjects, you’re often given the task to write proofs, or validate that the method you used to solve the problem works no matter what real world problem you’re presented with.  We’re understandably in an era of seeking truth...about the state of the economy, or maybe the state of our relationships. The problem is there’s never a clear cut answer. Everything is subjective and the state or one thing most times depends on another.  Sometimes it feels our our confidence...our self esteem...our self worth gets wrapped up in the subjective. Our worth depends on who said what about u
Read more