Abundance and Mercy

God is not a transactional God.

And yet...

I have often been given hours of extra time in one day.

Just this week I was so surprised at how much I got done on Monday.

I woke up early feeling refreshed, enjoyed my three hour morning routine

(tea, meditation, scriptures, prayer, journal, exercise, tidy, a small project, get dressed)

and still had six uninterrupted hours to work on my homework-- time to really dive in writing and  contemplating new ideas for a chapter that needed work.

During a lunch break, I made phone calls and completed online errands, then got right back into my story and by 5:30 p.m. was swimming with the satisfaction of a full productive day.

Over and over I thought about and commented on how grateful I was to have gotten so much more done than I hoped to. It just felt so darn good!

Tuesday started out much of the same. 

Woke extra early, refreshed.

Quiet meditative hour. Strong exercise hour. Nourishing breakfast.

Just as I'd finished dressing, before I'd started work,

I got a call for help which ended up taking most of the day.

Yes, I gladly sacrificed those hours to help a friend.

But were they a sacrifice?

All day I've been very aware that I was given an abundance of time yesterday,

before I was asked to share.

***

Apparently it's becoming frowned upon to say that when you pay your tithing,

you'll get a check in the mail. Because God is not a transactional God.

Then what can explain the checks in the mail I've received after paying my tithing?

Literal checks. Also time extensions for overdue bills, groceries received, 

food supply that lasted longer than it should have?

In the same way that when I've consecrated money, it's beget more money,

I've often noticed consecrated time has beget even more time.

If God isn't a transactional God, what words do we use to describe this phenomenon?

How do we explain the windows of heaven pouring out blessings?

Maybe God is not a transactional God. 

We shouldn't be good to get good. Or expect a curse when we don't do good.

But God is a merciful God.

Our loving Heavenly Father who knows not only our needs, but also our desires.

God's grace increases our capacity to become more like Him.

For me, Monday he gave, so the next day I could answer a call.