The mercy board

You see a new board in the fence.

I see an act of mercy.

One definition of mercy is "kind or forgiving treatment of someone who could be treated harshly"

You see, we ruined that fence.  

The fence is shared with our neighbor.  

One of our children noticed that this particular board could have pieces of wood easily torn from it.  No doubt to make some kind of weapon for boy play.  It was done without malice but it was still wrong.  

We talked with the offender about the damage that was done.  He felt terrible.  He and his Daddy made a plan to fix the fence together.

But...

Life got in the way.

Fixing the fence was on a long list of "to dos".

Today, there was a small knock at our front door.

It was our neighbor and his wife.

The folks we share this fence with.

They sweetly told me that they needed to get into our back yard for a few minutes.  

They were going to fix that board.

There was no anger.

There was no irritation.

There was love.

There was kindness.

There was mercy.

The children and I thanked them as they pulled off the damaged board and replaced it with a fresh one.

The child who cause the damage and I got to have a chat after they left.

"Sweetie, did you see what just happened?  You are the one who tore up that board and you should have been the one to fix it.  What did Mr. K and Mrs. P just do?"

"They fixed it for me!  That was so nice!" He said.

"That reminds me of something." I told him.  "We just celebrated Easter.  Remember how Jesus paid the price for our sins?  He took the consequences that should have been ours."

Tears welled up in my eyes as I thought about the picture of love and mercy our neighbors showed us.

Sometimes being Jesus to our neighbors is so simple.

I am humbled by their act.

When EJ got home from work that night, he went next door to thank Mr. K.

He told him how sorry he was for not fixing the board sooner.

Mr. K said, "the way I figure it, you have got your hands full."

Then he smiled his kind smile.

Oh Lord, 
How I long to have your heart.  To love others the way you love me.  It is so easy to take offense and to fight for what I deserve. May I remember this day when my desire is to punish someone for their wrong doing when what you want me to show them is mercy. Fill me with your holy spirit so that I can truly love others.  
In Jesus Name, 
Amen.