Recognizing the Tender Mercies of the Lord

Because of the circumstances in my life at the present moment, I spend most of my days with little to accomplish.  I've spent the last two to three years becoming more and more busy.  There were many days where I was running around campus for more than half my day working on various things. Now, however, I just don't have a lot to accomplish each day.  I workout every morning, and then I spend the rest of the day in the job search mode, with more of the same discouraging results.  It has been a really difficult adjustment for me.

A few weeks ago, I had this talk by Elder David A. Bednar come to my mind.  In this talk, Elder Bednar talks about the tender mercies of the Lord.  After being reminded of this talk, I tried to make a concerted effort to recognize those small moments when I could recognize the Lord and His love for me in my life.  Many times these instances were very small, such as just waking up happy and ready to attack the day or feeling really good about my workout in the morning.  I could feel that my life started to have a bit more purpose.

Last Sunday was a day of many tender mercies for me.  Some things happened Saturday night that left me feeling extremely discouraged and lonely.  I went to bed quite sad and depressed.  On Sunday I got the opportunity to drive with my dad to Logan to listen to all of my friends from choir sing in the tabernacle.  As we sat in the parking lot prior to entering the building, my spirits were lifted as I started seeing my friends piling into the building. The tender mercies continued as I listened to them warm-up beforehand.

My good friend Austin came up to me prior to the start of the fireside and asked me if I would say the closing prayer.  I accepted the invitation and prepared to be fed.  Then another friend from choir came up to me and handed me a card from last year's Latter-Day Voices president.  This note thanked me for being a member of the choir last year and telling me all the influences for good I had been in the choir.

I was spiritually fed by the choirs at the fireside, and the tender mercies continued as many of the things spoken and sung about applied directly to my life.  At the close of the fireside, I said the closing prayer when another tender mercy came for me. I was just waking off the stand when I heard the familiar middle C.  Immediately, I knew that the choirs would be singing "Go Ye Now in Peace", a personal favorite of mine.  As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I made the decision to stand there and sing with my friends. I'm not sure how many people could see me, I know my father and Brother Salmond noticed, but it meant the world to me.

I knew a few weeks beforehand that I needed to be at the fireside last week, and I am grateful that I had the opportunity to do so.  It was exactly what I needed at a time when I desperately needed it.  I am grateful for the tender mercies of the Lord in my life, and I'm grateful that He provides ways for me to feel of His love and compassion for me in my darkest hours.