The Encouragement of the Word and a swell sister-in-law

My niece, Makinley, is close to celebrating her first birthday. For her baby shower, before she was born, I was asked to share a little devotion on motherhood. At the time, I had a two and four year-old and was still in the thick of it. Any mother who has hit those ages with their kids knows what I mean. Even for the most patient of mothers, those ages are hard. You've been at it a while now, you've been exhausted for four straight years and can probably count on one hand the number of times you've slept through the night. I even have excellent sleepers, but almost every night there was some reason to wake me up - someone was sick, was sad, had peed, was scared, the list can go on and on... So, my devotion was focused on God's mercies. How faithful He is to forgive us, strengthen us, and enable us to be godly mothers! I brought a special coffee mug with me that day which I bought for myself a while ago with Lamentations 3:22-23 on it. It was my regular coffee mug I used every morning and it never failed to remind me that I have His faithfulness and compassion on my side as I start another day training and loving my children. I told Jana (in front of all the ladies) that I couldn't part with it, but I'd look for one to get for her. However, a month or so later, I headed out to visit her. She was having a pretty hard morning, since I'm sure the baby had arrived by then, and I tucked it in my purse and presented it to her. I felt it was time to pass it on. Yesterday, I went to visit Jana in the hospital as she was caring for Makinley, who had been very ill and had been admitted overnight due to severe dehydration. She, being the thoughtful person she is, had made sure to bring a gift she had been waiting to give me, in hopes of seeing me while she was in town (she lives 30 min. away). Wouldn't you know it, she found another mug with the same verse on it?!?I have to tell you, this verse never gets old! His compassions are truly new every morning! What an awesome promise to (literally) wake up to every morning! If you are trying to fill your life with anything but God's living Word in hopes of finding contentment, friend, you will always be disappointed. Thank you, Jana, for such a thoughtful gift (and for searching for a year for it)! As for an update on Makinley, she is spending another night in the hospital and is still pretty puny, but she should mend soon. Thank you, Lord, for your Word, your faithfulness, and your healing hand!