My first-born has been on punishment all weekend for play station abuse. He was on lock-down from everything that gave him pleasure except eating. He did pretty well dealing with the punishment and keeping himself busy. Lots of forced reading and crafts on his own. Last night he was excited about coming off his punishment and right before his shower, he asked, "Mama, can I have a warm towel? If you don't feel like it, that's okay." The fact that he showed me a little mercy and a way out, was a blessing to me. He knew I was tired and trying to watch the last few minutes of The Next Food Network Star Challenge. Now, you're probably wondering what the deal is with the warm towel. Every now and then on cool nights, I like to give my boys a warm towel right from the dryer as they exit the shower. I can't take credit for this compassionate idea, my younger sister shared this with me a few years ago and who wouldn't enjoy such an act of comfort? As I thought about an answer to give my son suffering his last hours of punishment, the popular hymn, Great Is Thy Faithfulness came to my mind. "Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness!" Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided, "Great is thy faithfulness", Lord unto me! The hymn reminded me of all the tender mercies the Lord shows me each day and how some of them are so small, they are often overlooked. Needless to say, my son received his warm towel. With a priceless smile on his face, he said, "Thank you, Mama!" My reply to him was, "You're welcome; thank God for mercy!"
Psalm 145:9 (KJV)
The Lord is good to all; and his tender mercies are over all his works.
