Blog

Challenge 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07

Challenge.07
It's not always easy showing mercy to those closest to us. Spend an hour of quality time with your mom or dad. If they live far away, set aside time to make a phone call.

Response.03 - John M.

Well it's that time again, I'm getting voice messages on my cell and home answering machine from my parents reminding me that I have ignored them way too long. So yet again I feel obligated to make some time to hang out with them. However for me it requires extra effort since my parents are divorced I have to travel to two different cities in the bay area. But you gotta do what you gotta do right? But being raised from a somewhat traditional Chinese background family has always been an important part of my life. I wouldn't be where I am now without their sacrifice and support.

On to the challenge. How does God want me to show mercy to my parents? I'm thinking that I'm already doing this right? Things like taking them out to eat, helping them out financially, fulfilling whatever needs they have, etc. But after some thought sometimes my heart isn't always at the right place when dealing with my parents. There are still some lingering grudges there, maybe due to past conflicts and the divorce thing. Hmm nevertheless I think my heart needs to be moved by the Spirit and to be forgiving. This is definately easier said than done.

So this past week I had an opportunity to make my conversations with my parents a little bit more meaningful. Typically my parents would do all the talking and questioning and I would have not much to say. I guess that's normal for everyone. But this time I tried to put more effort into it and have a more open heart. One weeknight I called my dad back to do our usual quick chats and actually attempted to ask him stuff like what he did over the holiday weekend and about his part-time job and stuff. It felt kinda weird at first but in a way there was some joy and peace that came to me when listening to what he has to say.

I've also attempted this with my mom when I visited her for dinner. Now with my mom the walls are thicker betweeen us. I think because in the past I wasn't treated as fairly by her and we had our differences. Again I tried to engage more into the conversation by asking her how work was going and stuff. I listened to her story about how the current slow economy is affecting the hotel perks where she worked. My mind wandered at times when listening to her talk. But I do feel that my presence there does give her joy since she spends most of her time home alone without much company.

In summary, showing mercy to ones that are closest to me like my parents is way harder than to friends or strangers on the street. Maybe knowing that unconditional love is always there I don't need to put much effort into it or treat them as nice all the time. This challenge has always been an ongoing one for me where God is continually testing my patience and character.

Read Response.01

Read Response.02

Want to share your story? Please send your responses to grxcatalyst@gmail.com