Tender Mercies

Today in sacrament meeting I bore my testimony on the tender mercies of the Lord.  I feel that its important for us to recognize the blessings the Lord gives us in our lives.  Some of them are very small; and some can be life changing.  For instance this last week we received notice that our rent was going to be raised - the tender mercy was that we also received notice several days before that, that we were receiving a bonus and a raise very soon.  So to me the tender mercy was that we received the positive news before the negative.  Also April and Everett found themselves stuck in Hong Kong because of passport difficulties and saw several tender mercies, first she was able to reach and old companion who took her to church, and then a kind bishop took them in and helped them apply for a temporary visa as well as careing for them for several days.  We never know how certain events in our lives will be a blessing to us later - such as April's mission.  Another sister in the ward told today how she was unable to get pregnant the first 4 years of her marriage, and what a difficult time it was, but later she counted it as a blessing that she was able to finish her education and in later years when she became a single mom she had a career that she could fall back on.  Sometimes it may be difficult to recognize the Lord's blessings in our lives, when they don't seem in line with our plan - but when we turn things over to the Lord and we let it be His plan we will be heading in the right direction.  For now be sure and notice the small tender mercies of the Lord in your lives.