But for mercy

I moved to the state of Texas in June 2013 to pursue a bachelors of science degree in Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington. I was excited and nervous about this change. It didn't take too long before I made new friends and got comfortable with my new environment. Before my move to Texas, I had lived in Nigeria (a country popularly known for his petroleum among the many natural resources God has blessed it with) for 18 years and in Chicago for 2 years.

My academics from kindergarten up until one year of study in a higher institution took place in Nigeria. I had some unforgettable experiences during that time. A funny one that comes to mind occurred while I was in high school. I went to a boarding school, Federal Government College Ikirun, Osun State, Nigeria. My school is located in the middle of a small village called Ikirun. Since my school was located in a remote village, there were forests around it. For this reason, there were serpents and other dangerous animals around us. On a certain week, a student woke up from sleep after going to bed tired from a day full of activities with skin cuts on his feet. He shared what had happened to everyone in the hostel but no one could explain how he got the cuts on his feet. Since we didn't understand how or where the cut came from, we all headed to our daily business and forgot about it. The next morning, more students woke up with similar cuts on their foot. At this point, we got more worried knowing that it could happen to anyone the next morning. We knew there were no cannibals among us and there also wasn't a mentally disturbed person among us who would take a razor blade or any sharp object to cut his fellow student's feet while they were asleep. We asked the students whom had these cuts if they could remember anything that happened while they were asleep and one of them said something that made us burst into laughter. He said, "while I was asleep, I felt some movement and a cool breeze around my feet but I didn't pay attention to it because I thought it was just the atmospheric air from outside." After his explanation, some students laughed a little louder because after he narrated what happened they knew where the cuts came from. I was part of the few students who has no clue of what could have caused the cuts, so myself and others who were still in the dark asked those who knew what caused those cuts to shed some light into the situation. After they were done laughing, they said rats had fed on the victims foot while they were sleeping, and the breeze they felt around their leg where from the rat's nose and mouth. That night a lot of students who would for no reason wear socks during the day time, even when instructed to wear them, started wearing socks to bed with the fear of not wanting their feet to be feasted upon by these merciless, non-fearing, hungry rats in my hostel. The question that sometimes come to my mind is "why didn't the rats eat my leg?" There were also occasions when snakes bit some students while returning to the hostel at night from class. I ask the question "why didn't I get bit my a snake during my stay there? Now I know the answer to that question. The simple one word answer is MERCY.

I recently returned to the state of Texas after spending about 3 weeks with my family in Chicago. While I was in Chicago, I went out with some friends and my sibling on couple of occasions.  On one of those outing, I saw an electronic board that displayed the number of traffic (or road) death for the year 2014 and the number displayed was over 900. So you are saying that more than 900 people died on this road I am presently on this year? Yes.  Statistics also shows that not all the people that died in these accidents were to blame. Some died as a result of someone else's mistake or carelessness while driving.  Over and over again, f curiosity,  I looked up the number of traffic death in the state of Texas but I couldn't find a specific number for the year 2014. I then looked at the percentage rise in traffic death in the previous years and the results showed thatI ask the question "why wasn't I the one who died in one of those accidents?" The answer: MERCY.

Thousands, or maybe millions, of people are on the streets begging for water, food, shelter, clothing, etc, but I'm not. A lot started their education but couldn't complete it. Some died during the cause, some fell ill, some got into an accident that ended their dreams, and some could not pass an exam to move onto the next level. I know for a fact that I am in no way better than any one of them, so I ask the question "why am I not in their shoes?" The answer: MERCY 

What then is MERCY? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, MERCY is a "kind or forgiving treatment of someone who could be treated harshly." It is also defined as "a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion." Also, it is defined as "compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one's power." Who then shows us MERCY? Who had MERCY on me that those rats did not eat my foot while they ate other's? Whose MERCY has kept me safe on the road? Whose MERCY has provides everything I need and want? Whose MERCY has kept me in school? The answer is found in the bible in the book of Lamentations 3:22. It says "It is of the Lord's MERCIES that we are not consumed, because his compassion fail not." The bible, in Romans 3:10 helps us realize that according to God "There is none righteous, no not one." But this same God says in Romans 3:23 that "we have been justified (made righteous) freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."  The question you might then ask is "I obey almost or all laws; who says I am not righteous? Why do I need Jesus Christ?" The answer to the first part of this question is found in the Isaiah 64:6. It says "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." The second part is found in the book of 1 Corinthians 1:30 "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." 

Remember that everything you are, have, will have, or will be is by the MERCIES of this great God. Thank him for His Mercies always.