Psalm 51:1-2
To the leader. A Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
Lois A. Cheney, Ph.D. was a professor emeritus at Bowling Green State University. In addition to her teaching responsibilities (33 years), Lois led numerous religious and educational retreats and conducted communication workshops for professionals throughout the country. Lois was the author of “God is No Fool.”. She attended Muskingum College and received her master’s and doctoral degrees from Kent State University and Michigan State University, respectively. Lois was very active for many years with the First Presbyterian Church of Bowling Green where she served as a Deacon and an Elder. She also served as a Sunday school teacher for teens and adults locally and nationally.
From God is No Fool:
The tennis ball bounces into the wrong court, and a cheerful voice calls after the grinning retriever, “Pardon me.”
Two people, each lost in their own thoughts, crowd a doorway. Each smiles deferentially to the other, murmuring, “Pardon me.”
Sitting at a counter munching on a hamburger, one reaches in front of another for the salt, saying, “Pardon me.”
One speaks a bit crudely in front of another. Looking embarrassed, he apologizes sincerely, “Pardon me.”
And one failed to retrieve a promise to God. And one took her own way, crossing the purpose of God.
And one reached out for his own will, cutting across God. And one spoke crudely of God’s name.
But not one said, or even thought, “Pardon me.”
God have mercy on us.
Prayer
Pardon me, God, for forgetting how much You have forgiven in my life. Help me to pause and seek Your grace, so that I may recognize how You truly love me, and then live in thankfulness for all Your blessings. Amen.
