Blessed are the Merciful

A few weeks ago, I really wanted an important blessing from God.  I didn't really think I deserved it, but I still desired it.  I started coming across opportunities to be merciful and the scripture kept coming to mind:

"Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy."  -- Matt 5:7

Throughout that time of working and anxiously waiting for the desired blessing, I took the opportunities to be merciful.  If I was in a position of power, I used that power to bless those with less power around me.  As a result, when I reached the end of the waiting time, the blessing I wanted still really mattered to me, but I had plenty of back-up happiness and completeness stored up just in case it wasn't granted.

It was granted!

Another opportunity to be merciful came up yesterday.

It was the end of a day of extremely good and extremely bad news.  My heart was achy and tired.  (My heart literally aches in my ribs when my feelings are intense... kind of a cool early warning system that I need to take care of something.)  I opened my mailbox and saw a letter from the company that covers the driver at fault in a recent fender bender.

He was definitely 100% at fault, but I don't think the details will add to the message of my post.

And the letter said his company was placing me at fault!

I felt the nastiness of anger welling up.  Now anger doesn't do anything good for anybody.  It doesn't even make people run faster.  It just makes us hurt.

I started to think of dumb options for responding to being falsely accused.  Then I thought, "It's 7:00.  I need to eat dinner and visit my boy.  I CAN'T feel like this!"

I started to pray and used an emotion code response to draw out and get rid of all the anger, frustration, betrayal and other nasty things I felt.

I thought of my State Farm agent.  I know, from my work, that an agent doesn't work directly on the case, but I just wanted to ask him if my insurance rates would change because I was being placed at fault.

My agent is also a friend of the family and a mentor figure.

When he called back, he listened to the story of the accident and what the other driver had done afterward, and I said, "I don't want to penalize him or cause anybody any hurt.  I just want to not have my rates go up."

He assured me that they wouldn't. We caught up with each other's families and friends

Then my next thought was more Christlike and merciful.  I said truthfully, "I feel bad for him that he has to worry when he's falling asleep at night."  I had a wild desire to call the other driver and offer forgiveness, but I think life, or eternity, will give me a more appropriate opportunity when it is time.

It was amazing to me that through a small merciful choice to not be angry, I was given such peace and love and relief from my anxiety in just a short five minute call.  I had a whole, unworried heart to offer to my boy.  I took him out for Almond Dream Bites and a walk by the river and was even able to draw on this experience to help him get along with somebody he has conflicts with.

"Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy."