Perhaps you and I have not yet met in real life.
Still, I eagerly desire to welcome you -- terrific and fantastic YOU -- into my heart and life.
Shall we meet?
Shall we be friends?
Okay.
Here we go:
Hi! My name is Louima Lilite. Pronounced lwee-mah lee-leet, it is (I grant you) an unusual name. Even in my native Haiti, I quickly learned to get used to the usual, awkward pause most individuals experience upon encountering my name.
Hence, I became Lou -- plain and simple Lou.
Although I love my official name, I have come to realize that Lou may suit my story better than my unusual name.
You see, I am unique but not unusual.
I am unique because I have learned in Ephesians 2:10 that I am "God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for me to do" (NIV). I have also taken to heart what the Father said to the prophet Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart" (Jeremiah 1:5).
Special.
Set apart.
But I am not unusual. I am a human being -- complete with frailty, fractures, and flaws -- in deep search of freedom, peace, and grace.
Oh, grace!
Amazing, it is.
Astounding, really.
I have made two, ten, thirty boatloads of mistakes. I have let many people down. I have neglected to guard my heart and engaged in shameful thought, conduct, and speech. I have lied, cheated, hidden, messed up . . . (the list could go on for millennia) . . .
BUT . . .
Grace stepped in.
It led me to know Christ.
It brought me to complete my formal schooling in Haiti.
It guided me to earn degrees at three levels -- baccalaureate, master, and doctorate.
It ushered me into an undeserved marriage, granted me two delightful daughters, and blessed me with tried and true friends.
It moved me to Oooooklahoma "where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain . . ." -- a place that has taught me so much about love and resilience.
It drew me to season after season of losses, disappointments, heartaches, rejections, uncertainties, tragedies, and challenges -- all of which point me to the Peace that passes all understanding.
Peace!
. . . the peace that makes no sense
. . . the freedom that unshackles prisoners
. . . the grace that pardons the unforgivable ones
It is all available to me in the eternal, life-giving Spring of Christ.
But do I go there to quench my thirst?
The above question pins me down -- convicted, fallen short, guilty. All too often, I am too harried and frazzled to pay attention to my thirsty soul.
Hence, I write.
I write my way to the Spring.
I write down the daily mercies the Holy Spirit dictates to my heart.
I write in here insights I receive from the Word, truths I am praying to emulate . . .
in thought
in action
in word
loving God and neighbor with my whole mind
loving God and neighbor with my whole body
loving God and neighbor with my whole heart/soul
How could I ever presume to achieve such a monumental feat?
Knowing my insufficiency, the merciful Father has granted me an invitation to draw "daily mercies" from His deep well. He has beckoned me to come to the Word and collect mercies upon mercies that are renewed to me every morning.
What about you, my friend?
Ever feel thirsty?
Ever find yourself in need of new mercies?
Ever want to fly or run or walk or even crawl to the Father's well?
This little corner, dubbed Daily Mercies, is for you.
Come in here.
Make yourself comfortable.
Bring your cup and take a satisfying sip.
Open your heart and receive what the Lord may have in store for you.
My prayer is that God would grant me the grace of your walking alongside me to His refreshing and replenishing well . . .
. . . and as we journey together, I pray that you and I will learn to know each other well and "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18, NIV).
With all my heart,
~ Lou
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