When I was a young girl, every Sunday, without fail, or it seemed like it, my father would take my sisters and me to church. We would sing along with the choir, listen to the sermon, and participate in communion.
There were one or two songs or prayers I enjoyed so much. So much so, while growing up, I would recite, “Lord have mercy on my soul.” I said those six words so often that it became my mantra. Even now, as an adult, I sometimes find myself whispering those words.
What does it mean to ask for mercy on my soul? Surely, mercy is woven into the nature of God’s love.
I was reminded of the mantra by reading the following passage by Marianne Williamson.
Dear God,
May I not withhold from others
The mercy You have shown to me.
May I not scold others for their mistakes,
But rather provide a compassionate space
Where they feel free to begin again.
Amen
Beautiful words! The day I saw and ‘understood’ my journey I could see me in everyone else, even though all their journeys were very different. We all have a chance to find us, tripping and stumbling, but once we see why, we understand that we all need that chance. As an example, when you see a child trying to do something like hit a ball with a bat…you encourage them, you show them, you explain to them…but it is still up to them to ‘reach’ wherever they can in that process, even if they are short tempered, frustrated or just wildly swinging away. Now one step further, a murderer has their ‘ball to hit too’, that is their journey to face something within themselves too, anger, frustration or a lust to do as they do…AND…those actions even help others around them. They are shown something that stretches their hearts, minds and even belief in life after witnessing something so horrible. It is always a two way street in all our actions, even if no one witnesses it, you and God went somewhere for that inner healing in whatever form it takes. If we were to judge and take that murderers life (electric chair etc) for his actions…how do we know that after everything he has done it will take him inside himself and he convert to God in shame of what he has done…AND…spends the rest of his life trying to make up for what he has done by helping many others…alcoholic’s, drug addicts, people through a loss, friends etc. We have taken away that chance, and trust me, we all need to be tested or we will not find that inner place. This life is all about that bat and ball and how we apply it, to us and others 😀 ❤️ 🙏🏽 🦋
Good point. We are all on our own journeys yet we still experience through other people’s actions, because that is what life means for us – a series of experiences with one another and ourselves as well.