We don't have any idea what is on the other side of that door, but God gave us the key to unlock it

We were playing Monopoly on New Year's Eve with some old friends.  Over and over and over, one friend kept landing in jail, trying to roll doubles to get out, inevitably paying the $50 fine, and foregoing once again the opportunity to pass "Go and collect $200."  She longed for a "get out of jail free" card, that seemed to be only for everybody else.  It appeared that jail was her permanent address, behind bars in a repetitive loop.

Just days before, I finished reading Ann Lamott's latest book Hallelujah Anyway;  Rediscovering Mercy.   Lamott's theology can be a little ragged at times, and her language a bit gritty, but she is honest and vulnerable and doesn't just recite a definition of grace, she knows what it means.  

My life is very different from Lamott's.  But we are all in this life together.  Even though our histories differ, our story is the same.  O LORD, have mercy.  We all need Jesus.  His forgiveness is the key that lets us "out of jail," no matter how we got there, no matter how long we've been there, no matter how many times we keep on coming back. 

In her book, Lamott spoke of a woman who incredibly forgave the murderer of her husband and son.  It was not a matter of letting them off the hook or releasing them from guilt.  As Lamott said, "She let herself out of jail."

Because that's what forgiveness does.  Like my grandchildren with chocolate:  forgiveness gets all over everyone.

In her book, Lamott writes,  "Forgiveness and mercy mean that, bit by bit, you begin to outshine the resentment.  You open the drawer that was shut and you take out the precious treasures that you hid there so long ago and, with them, the person who marvels at tadpoles, who pulls for people to come clean and then have a second chance, who aches and intervenes for those being bullied, forgives the evil brothers and unforgivable you. 

"We are all gigantically flawed, such screw-ups.  Everyone is broken, clingy, and scared, even the people who seem to have it most together."  

There is a lot of desperation in keeping up appearances... or falling into the deception that I can't do anything about it. 

But this I know:  His mercy is more.  God changes you by His grace.

I heard this new song on Sunday morning.  The words came right up next to me and held me by the hand.  Click here to let the music wash over you, and go with you into your day.

"Praise the Lord,
      His mercy is more.
Stronger than darkness,
     New every morn.
Our sins they are many,
     His mercy is more."

We don't have any idea what is on the other side of forgiveness, but God gave us the key to unlock it.  And with it, as Lamott writes, we rediscover precious treasures that have been missing for a long, long time,  and precious you covered by grace.

No matter where you are today,
      His mercy is more.