Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Tender mercies

One of my favorite scripture verses is in the 1st chapter of the Book of Mormon. I love it because it gives a name to those moments when I've felt the touch of a loving Heavenly Father. It reads:

... 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 to the power of deliverance. (1 Nephi 1: 20 )

One of many in the Old Testament:

The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. (Psalms 145:9)

Tender mercies. Extensions of divine help, divine intervention, divine watchcare. Sometimes so tender and gentle that we fail to recognize them.

I heard a talk one Sunday on this very subject and that night I set out to compile a list of the tender mercies I had already seen in my life. I was amazed at the number of moments that easily came to mind.

The time I glanced down (just for a moment, I promise) and when I looked back up the car in front of me had stopped dead in the lane. No time to react. Immediately, the steering wheel wrenched from my grasp, literally taken over by an unseen power. We swerved around that car, just inches away.

Another time, feeling beyond lonely. Words to a forlorn spiritual I learned in school repeating in my mind - sometimes I feel like a motherless child, a long way from home. Out of place in Texas, no home in New Jersey, truly "home"-less. And then, a clear thought permeated my mind. A simple phrase. A tender reassurance. "You have a home." A heavenly reminder that there is more for me than this earth life.

And more, so many more moments. Others may attribute such experiences to coincidence, karma, whatever. But I know these sweet moments are just what the scriptures say they are. Tender mercies. From a benevolent God extended to me, His daughter. Just when I need them.





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