Loving Mercy

It is January 27, 2011. One year ago today I received a little of God’s mercy in my life. Actually, I received quite a bit of mercy… in the form of Merci, a beautiful little girl rescued from the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake. She has been with the Craft clan now for a whole year and we couldn’t be happier.

Today, Merci and I went out to lunch together and then to ice cream. When I ordered a single-scoop chocolate cone and Merci ordered a single-scoop vanilla cone, the irony wasn’t lost on my daughter. She said, “Daddy you got brown and I’m brown and I got white and you’re white!” I took the opportunity to tell her, as I often do, that brown is my favorite color. She smiled and said that her favorite is purple, but she sorta liked my color too. It is interesting to see people stare at the funny-looking tattooed white guy holding hands with the stunning Haitian six year old. But I’m finding that as different as we may look from each other on the outside, we couldn’t be any closer even if we had the same blood running through our veins.

There is a Bible verse that is often spoken of in connection to married people that states: “What God has joined together no man can pull asunder” (Mark 10:9). I love that verse. I think it works for other relationships too.

In the dictionary, ‘mercy’ is defined: Kind and compassionate treatment – A disposition to be benevolent and forgiving – Something to be thankful for. The Haitian word for “thank you” is ‘merci’. I believe ‘Merci’ is the perfect name for our little girl. Kelli and I are enormously thankful to the Lord for allowing this little girl to be in our lives. It has proven once again that our God is kind and compassionate and loves us very, very much.

Today, I truly have something to be thankful for – her name is Merci Klarrah.