My "Tender Mercies"

I love that Elder David Bednar (of the LDS Church) brought the phrase "tender mercies" into our Mormon lexicon last year in his beautiful conference talk. Lately, my life has seemed a bit crazy, the unexpected has occurred a few times over, and we have come out generally unscathed. But there have been small, seemingly insignificant moments when I have felt the hand of the Lord in my life. We are watched over, our actions are noted, and our problems understood. What a miracle it is, the love our Father in Heaven has for us. He has known us all for a very long time, and can bless us with unimaginable peace, even in the worst times of our lives. After some time and reflection, and through the love of our Lord, those times can somehow turn into some of the best times of our lives. We can hopefully grow closer to our families and more dependent on our faith in Him when we've been tried. This is why we are here on the earth. And I know that to be true. I feel like the luckiest person alive just because I know why I am here and how to get to a better place after this life. It is, after all, so very short and fragile. And I find deep and abiding comfort in my knowledge that MY FAMILY is forever. Neal will be with me forever, my kids will always be mine, they will always have each other, and Neal and I will always have them, no matter what may happen here on earth.

Read this slowly, a couple of times. It is so inspiring.

Life is So Good

"We should not underestimate or overlook the power of the Lord's tender mercies. The simpleness, the sweetness, and the constancy of the tender mercies of the Lord will do much to fortify and protect us in the troubled times in which we do now and will yet live. When words cannot provide the solace we need or express the joy we feel, when it is simply futile to attempt to explain that which is unexplainable, when logic and reason cannot yield adequate understanding about the injustices and inequities of life, when mortal experience and evaluation are insufficient to produce a desired outcome, and when it seems that perhaps we are so totally alone, truly we are blessed by the tender mercies of the Lord and made mighty even unto the power of deliverance (see 1 Nephi 1:20)."

You ought to read the whole talk. Click below! It's beautiful. Thank you Elder Bednar!

( Elder David A. Bednar, "The Tender Mercies of the Lord," Ensign, May 2005, 100)