Mercy

"I desire MERCY, not sacrifice." ~ Hosea 6:6

Every so often, I come across a word that I can't seem to shake.

A word that resonates and seems to follow me around.

A word that becomes my One Word.

I first heard about Evan Carmichael's One Word in 2017.

Since then, I've found there are certain words

that seem to embody where I am and what I'm trying to do.

These One Word statements have lasted a few months to over a year.

I don't really seek them out. They just seem to find me.

It first began with IMPACT, then INSPIRE.

Followed by CONNECT, then PEACE.

The most recent have been PRESENCE and LISTEN.

But over the past few weeks, MERCY has been knocking at my door.

I have the daily habit of writing my affirmations

and gratitude statements on my notepad,

then I write a page or two in my digital writing journal.

This morning, I was looking through my daily journals

from the past couple of weeks, I noticed a trend.

The words MERCY and GRACE kept reappearing.

With others.

With self.

I was also reading Matthew this week

and took pause when I read Jesus quote Hosea saying,

"go and learn what this means,

'I desire MERCY, not sacrifice.'"

So I'm going to "go and learn what this means."

I'm going take my time with this One Word.

I often close out my notes and text messages

and emails and letters with a phrase borrowed from Paul.

Grace and peace.

For the time being, I plan to add One Word to this closing.

This word has been following me around for a while now.

May this word follow you around today as well.

As I wish grace and peace and MERCY to you today.