Tender Mercies

I've been thinking a lot lately about the concept of "Tender Mercies". According to the apostle David Bednar, "the Lord’s tender mercies are the very personal and individualized blessings, strength, protection, assurances, guidance, loving-kindnesses, consolation, support, and spiritual gifts which we receive from and because of and through the Lord Jesus Christ. "

I am working at being more observant, more mindful, more conscious of the many tender mercies in my life.

Some are blatantly obvious. Others are more subtle.

There are little things like what I will try to always remember as "the lesson of the notebook." Tonight I went to a church meeting for all the adult women of the church. There was a light supper of soup & salad followed by a satellite broadcast of talks by various leaders from Salt Lake City. On my way out the door I put my scriptures and a notepad and pen in my bag and headed out. Then just as I was about to go out the door I got a very firm prompting that I should go back and get a SECOND notebook and pen. I had no idea why. I just knew it was something I should do.

As I sat in the cultural hall eating and visiting with other women I forgot all about that extra notebook and the unexplainable feeling I had received to go back to get it. But when we all moved into the chapel for the presentation of the talks I found myself sitting next to a young woman I did not know. She was fretting because in her haste to get ready to come to the meeting she had forgotten to bring something to write with. She wished she would be able to take notes during the meeting. I calmly reached into my bag and handed her the extra notepad and pen I had and said to her "thank you. Now I know why I was supposed to bring these."

It was just a LITTLE thing. But it showed me all over again that even when it comes to something as simple as a woman's need for a notebook so she could record and remember important spiritual direction, the Lord was mindful of her and prepared a way that her needs would be supplied.

I know in countless ways MY needs are met through interventions such as this. Too often I fail to give credit to my creator when they do.

So I want to start paying closer attention, to deliberately seek awareness of things for which I can and should be more grateful.

There are so very many blessings in my life these days that sometimes I take many of them for granted.

I am looking forward to turning that around.