Month: July 2020

A Sacred And Special Place

Enjoying every moment of my short time on the grounds of this beautiful, sacred and special place.

With the spread of the coronavirus still ongoing, a sacred and special place, the temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints closest to me has been closed and not fully operational in months. During a brief time the gates of the temple property were open for a drive-by viewing to pay respects to an older gentlemen in my ward congregation who had recently passed away, I had the opportune blessing of being able to leisurely walk the grounds around the temple.    

This well-regarded church member was a former Temple President and Sealer in this sacred and special place. In lieu of a public memorial service that could not be held due to coronavirus health measures in place precluding large gatherings, prior to his passing, he requested that his funeral procession travel through the temple parking lot en route to the cemetery where he would be laid to rest.  

Upon receiving the news of his passing and the invitation to attend his drive-by viewing at this sacred and special place, I was unsure I would be able to make it. It was not until the day of, at the very hour I would need to head out to arrive right at the time of the drive-by viewing was I certain it would work for me to go. Being the time had already past for to arrive the recommended fifteen minutes before the viewing, I questioned if it was worth it to go. As I thought about staying home instead to take on a weeding project that was long overdue, it was a tender mercy a General Conference talk by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf entitled “Of Things That Matter Most”, a quoted reference in his message in regards to that which is good, better, best entered my mind and I knew that attending the viewing was best and the weeding could wait. 

I quickly changed into a skirt outfit and off I went. I arrived at the intersection of the temple lot three minutes before the scheduled drive-by viewing, which unfortunately the hearse had already driven through the temple parking lot, however, it was a tender mercy that the light at the intersection was red and from where I was in the line of stopped traffic I was able to see the hearse exit the intersection and travel away from the temple.

Moments later, I pulled into the temple parking lot just as church members and friends were departing. Though I missed the full drive-by viewing, it was a tender mercy I arrived when I did as I had the opportune blessing to park and enjoy a quiet and peaceful walk around the temple. I soaked up and enjoyed every moment of my short time on the grounds of this beautiful, sacred and special place.

When have you had the opportune blessing of being present on the grounds of a sacred and special place during a time it was temporarily open?

tendermercym❤️ments~jld

“How have you noticed Heavenly Father’s awareness and mindfulness of you today?”

*If you would like to receive an email when new posts are published which includes an audio version of the posts as well, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.

Proactively Set In Motion The Ball Rolling

Through my active persistence to proactively set in motion the ball rolling, I was able to have a recall replacement part for my car installed in less than a week’s time and before the anticipated news of a joyous occasion to occur any day for a loved one took place.

While awaiting word of a special life’s event for a loved one to occur any day, I received a recall letter in the mail regarding the critical need to replace a faulty part in my vehicle that could cause my car to spontaneously, without warning, stall out at high speeds. I was concerned the immediate need to take care of this crucial recall could possibly delay my being present to celebrate with the loved one upon announcement of the anticipated joyous news. As I did not want to chance my car stalling on my way to be with them, I sought right away to arrange and proactively set in motion the ball rolling for a new replacement part to be installed as quickly as possible rather than wait on a service advisor at the dealership to reach out to me for when to get the repair done. 

At first, getting the ball rolling did not go so well and it started off very awkwardly. When I initially called the dealership’s service department where I would have the recall work done, the employee who picked up was following a standard protocol to set me up with a rental car to which I did not need. When I asked to speak with a service advisor, I was told one was unavailable and that the service area was very busy and understaffed. The employee took down my name and number and said it may take until the next day for a service advisor to get back to me. 

Later that evening I received a callback from a service advisor post shop hours.  Unfortunately, I did not recognize the number and therefore did not pick up the incoming call. When they left a voicemail, I listened to it right away and immediately called back the number they had given at the end of their return call to me, however, I got their voicemail to which I then left a detailed message expressing my desire for the recall replacement part to be ordered and that I would like to wait to bring in my car for the estimated 3 1/2 hour service once the part was in stock and that I was not in need of a rental. 

Though I was disappointed I missed their call, it was short-lived as I realized nothing could be done that night anyways as the parts department was already closed. Hopeful the service advisor would have called me back the next morning, come mid-afternoon when I still hadn’t heard back from them, I reached out to them through the service department’s main number and was transferred to their desk voicemail.

Desiring to touch base with them sooner rather than later due to the nature of needing my car to be operable as quickly as possible, it was a tender mercy I was impressed to look up the service advisor on the website for the dealership’s particular location to which under their name and photo was their work cell number. When I called the number, they picked up right away and from there I was able to more so get the ball rolling.

Not long after our call, I received, per my request, a confirmation message from the service advisor notifying me that the parts had been ordered. Where I was told it may take a week or so for the recall replacement parts to be delivered, it was a tender mercy it only took five days. As I continued to stay on top of the status, the process moved along very swiftly.

Four days later, I contacted the parts department to check on the status of the ordered parts and was informed they already had some of the parts in and they were confident the rest would arrive the next day and that I would be able to have my car serviced the day following. I was delighted and promptly contacted the service department to schedule a morning appointment two days out. 

The next afternoon, I followed up with the parts department to confirm if the remaining parts had come in to which they had. Later that same evening, I received a call from the service advisor returning my initial callback. I brought them up to speed that I had reached out to the parts department and was told the parts were in and that I would be coming in the next morning to have my car serviced.

Where the service advisor had been out of the office the day prior and they had not yet received an updated to date parts status report at the time of their call to me, they were unaware I was coming in the next day. They told me they would write up the paperwork that evening and everything would be in order to begin servicing my car upon my arrival the next morning. 

Through my active persistence, it was a tender mercy I was able to have the recall replacement part installed in less than a week’s time and before the anticipated news came from the loved one. 

When have you proactively set in motion the ball rolling to immediately care to a crucial matter that arose simultaneous to your awaiting a joyous occasion to occur and the crucial matter was resolved with swiftness before the exciting event you anticipated any day took place?

tendermercym❤️ments~jld

“How have you noticed Heavenly Father’s awareness and mindfulness of you today?”

*If you would like to receive an email when new posts are published which includes an audio version of the posts as well, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.

Right Under My Nose All Along

A consistent and profound tender mercy was right under my nose all along to which I casually noted here and there, but overlooked and didn’t pick up on entirely until I took a look back at my past week.

For over a week, I have been waiting day after day for a standout tender mercy moment to occur, one I could write a full blog entry relating my experience. Though minute ones of significance were happening daily, a consistent and profound tender mercy was right under my nose all along to which I casually noted here and there, but overlooked and didn’t pick up on entirely until I took a look back at my past week. It was then I saw more evidently that the standout tender mercy moment was the complete and utter stillness I felt regularly among a lot of uncertainties and chaos.  

For months, the activity level in our home has been low-key relative to what our normal comings and goings were preceding the COVID-19 outbreak. With nonessential businesses in operation once again, albeit to a differing degree, the past almost week and a half for me has been unusually packed for the first time since March of this year with either an appointment or a celebration of some kind every single day. 

Not knowing if businesses would be mandated to close again due the influx of recent coronavirus cases, I proactively scheduled various appointments for myself and my kids during a current available window. It was a tender mercy it so happened that all of the appointments including multiple celebrations consecutively lined up on my calendar for nine days straight with only one function taking place each day. I was grateful it worked out that way and that I only needed to focus on one event per day and they all occurred close together and before the possibility of any cancellation or postponement. 

Ironically, with so much to be concerned about and easily stressed over as to additional health protocols required upon entering various offices, food and other establishments as well as the current turmoil that has been taking place in our nation, it was a tender mercy that despite the ruckus going on everywhere, I felt a complete and utter stillness which I more fully recognized as I reflected back on the days past to be a standout tender mercy that was right under my nose all along. 

When have you not fully recognized a profound tender mercy in the moment or moments it was right under your nose all along, but looking back you saw it? 

tendermercym❤️ments~jld

“How have you noticed Heavenly Father’s awareness and mindfulness of you today?”

*If you would like to receive an email when new posts are published which includes an audio version of the posts as well, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.