Moments of Mercy: Caleb Adcox
But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
His mercies never come to an end
They are new every morning;
Great is your faithfulness.
(Lamentations 3: 21-23)
For the second week of our mission trip to Ethiopia, we drove out to the village of Masha, where we spent the week ministering to the local church and the children in the surrounding community. Upon arrival, I was immediately blown away, first by the hospitality we were shown. The residents went as far as cutting down a section of their fence before we even had a chance to introduce ourselves, because our land cruisers couldn’t fit through the gate. As soon as we pulled up to the church, everyone who wasn’t already cooking dinner for us came out to help us unload our luggage. After unloading the vans, they brought us into the church, where we were welcomed with a celebration lasting several hours. There was coffee and tea, food, music, dancing, and prayer until well after the sun went down.
As much of a blessing as that experience was, it was difficult to be positive and grateful in the moment. I had been very sick for the past day and a half, and wasn’t showing any signs of improvement in the near future. In fact, I spent most of my time in the village unable to do much of anything. This was frustrating to me; I didn’t fly to the other side of the world and sit through a two day drive through the mountains to sit around and try to recover while the rest of the team did all the work I was looking forward to. I found myself stuck in a cycle, trying to do too much, only to wear myself out and miss out on the next thing we did. It took a constant, active effort to remind myself that I was not there to do the things I wanted, but because God had led me there for His will, and being a part of that will is a blessing even when it doesn’t align with my plans.
Many times that week, I was reminded of the verses above. Hope is not something that stays with you automatically no matter the circumstance. It has to be actively maintained and continually called to mind, or else it will be forgotten. God’s love isn’t always readily apparent unless you are looking for it. Of course, God’s love is constant and abundant, expressed endlessly and in countless ways, but so often we lose sight of this love through our struggles and burdens. That is why it must be continually called to mind.
As the week went on, I began to let go of my frustrations, just a little bit at a time. I never had one giant epiphany, where all of a sudden the entire trip fell into perspective, and everything seemed exactly right. Instead, I began to see each moment as a display of mercy. I still had to sit out of a lot of the things we did, but rather than be anxious about what I could be doing, I learned to be grateful for the chance to rest, and to find even more joy in the things I could do. I didn’t always sleep well, but the sun still rose the next morning. It was hard to focus on morning prayer, both for the constant noise and movement of the wildlife, and the business of the locals preparing for the day, but I stopped getting frustrated at the distractions and instead appreciated the beautiful display of creation that was distracting me. It was during one of these distractions- staring at the sunrise over the mountains while I was trying to get my train of thought back on the tracks- that it fully sunk in: God’s mercies are new every morning because the morning itself is an act of mercy.
This whole time, I had been trying to experience the blessings I wanted, the way I wanted to. I had been taking the simple fact that I was there for granted, not even stopping to consider that just the fact that I was in Ethiopia, experiencing this abundant hospitality from the people I came to serve, far exceeded all the mercies I could have ever asked for. Looking back, I find myself literally counting my blessings: The sun rose, that’s #1. I woke up, that’s #2. I opened my eyes and took a breath, that’s #3 and #4. Four walls and a roof, plus the dozen people in the church where we slept, and I’d hit 20 before I even sat up. You lose count pretty quickly; every person, every word, and every breath add up to a lot. Eventually, it stops being about each individual blessing, or how many there are in total, but instead a general awareness of the constant blessing it is just to be a part of creation.
Caleb is a joy to be around. Filled with the Holy Spirit, he is always ready with a dad joke, a smile, or a word of consolation. He’ll be a junior at LA Tech this school year studying Business. He will also be serving on this year’s Wesley Discipleship Team. We are so blessed to have him!