Tender Mercies of the Lord

"But behold, I, Nephi will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance." 

Nephi told us to liken the scriptures unto ourselves, right? Well, lemme tell ya, my name could be replaced with Nephi perfectly. 

Well, my first week of my senior year of college has come and gone, really without anything too problematic. Yes, I did sit in a class this week where I knew instantly I had to drop it but overall life was good. I started making plans and being social and suddenly, I realized it was Saturday night, I was exhausted from baking, and I had a long week ahead of me. I sat there, last night, beating myself up for all the times I wasn't productive or all the things I haven't finished and went to sleep pretty miserable.

To make matters worse (or better, as I came to find out), today was Fast Sunday (for those of you who don't know, this is the first Sunday of the month where Latter-day Saints choose not to eat or drink for two meals in order to be in tune with the Spirit). I awoke cranky but decided to make the best of it. 

Within the first hour of church, I knew God was looking out for me--personally. The Relief Society lesson was on Remember Who You Are! by Elaine S. Dalton, which talked about our potential as women and to remember who we were before this life. It was exactly what I needed to hear, as I spent the night before beating myself up over all the little things in my life that aren't perfect and all of the every day stressors that I have. Tender Mercy #1.

During the second hour of church, I ended up in a Preach my Gospel class, which honestly, I was skeptical about.  Within a few minutes, I knew that this would be my Tender Mercy #2, as the lesson was on Elder Bednar's recent address at Education Week on sharing the gospel.  This talk happens to be on my to do list to read at some time but I have been bogged down in other responsibilities that I wasn't able to listen to or read. I smiled when I found out the lesson was on this talk and was even more excited when we watched part of it. Tender Mercy #2.

After church, when the reality of school tomorrow set in, I panicked, as I realized on Saturday that I forgot the one book I actually really need for my semester. I have one friend in the class but of course, I don't have her number. As I began to freak out, I realized that I had a friend on Facebook who probably had her number and with that, I received yet another tender mercy. The friend happened to be online, had the girl's number and I was able to contact my friend with the book. I went over to her house about 10 minutes later and will now be able to complete the assignment. Tender Mercy #3. 

And just when I thought that Heavenly Father had finished blessing my day, He remembered me once again. I have a ton of things on my plate this week, which is good. I like being busy but as the night gets later, I began to become more stressed out and worried on how everything was going to get done. Sadly, one event that I wanted to host this week got canceled. I am bummed but realized that this too is a tender mercy from Heavenly Father, as I honestly don't know how I would be able to accomplish this week. Tender Mercy #4.

I am beyond grateful for my Heavenly Father. I know that He personally knows me and knows my challenges, my strengths and my weaknesses. I know that without Him, I would not be able to make it through the week. I need Him every hour, oh Gracious Lord. I know that tender mercies are God's gift to the faithful and I will continue to be faithful in my attempts to return to Him once more. I know that His church is true and has been restored on the earth today through a true prophet of God, Joseph Smith. Tender mercies are out there, folks. It's just up to you to recognize them through the whisperings of the Spirit.