For judgment is without mercy

to one who has

   shown no mercy.

Mercy triumphs

       over judgment.

        James 2. 13

(Hands down.

Every time.

Even in this.

Am I choosing to judge,

to be critical,

to be unloving,

or even to have a

           bad attitude?

Or choosing

  to practice grace in this?

Not just playing nice,

but living as those

  who know what

        mercy does.

This is not

   the season for giving.

This is the time

        for forgiving.

What am I bringing

      to the table?)

O LORD,

Help us to realize

that bearing mercy

into a difficult situation

or impossible relationship,

always changes it,

sometimes in eternal ways

     we are unaware.

Mercy is always

          what to do.

The blessing, O LORD,

comes not from our mercy

      but from Yours,

not as a prize or the result,

     but in the actual doing.

We miss that.

Help us to point

   not to others' faults,

but to

    the scandalous hope

    that is in us.