Month: January 2021

Handling A Challenge Head On

Time and again, when I have gone about handling a challenge head on, the outcome of my efforts have been nothing short of a tender mercy.

How do you handle challenges? For me, I recognize if I do not handle a challenge head on, my challenges don’t go away, they just linger in the background and it is stress I don’t want weighing on me. So, how do I go about handling a challenge head on? I proactively take some kind of action to do what I can to work towards a resolve that will improve the circumstances I find myself up against. 

Between my college years, my transportation to and fro where I lived and the job I had was by bus. The bus stop closest to the office building where I worked was several blocks away. Each evening after work, I could either take my time walking to the bus stop and wait a length of time for a later hour bus to arrive or I could run as fast as I could to catch a scheduled bus that was departing just minutes after I got off work.

Desiring to get home sooner rather than later, I didn’t think twice or doubt my ability to accomplish a desired goal of getting on the earlier bus. I went for it and took off running. The result of my determination and believing I could do it paid off. Every time I made a run to catch the earlier bus, it was a tender mercy I got to the door of the bus just seconds after it arrived and before it departed.  

Today, while simultaneously listening to something through my earbuds that were plugged into my phone that was placed in a front pocket of my shirt and attending to replenishing our puppy’s food and water dish, as I leaned over her water bowl I had just filled up and was setting down, my phone fell out of my pocket and landed in the water. 

Though my natural split second inclination would be to freeze and assess the situation, it was a tender mercy I immediately pulled my phone out of the water. After wiping dry the front side of my phone and the exterior of my case, enclosed tightly around my phone, I also noticed moisture that was trapped between the phone and the case. It was a tender mercy I was able to remove the case quickly, wipe dry the interior of the case and the backside of the phone, and as I took to handling the challenge head on, my new phone, not more than a few weeks old, was still fully functional. 

And then, not long after, as I was just about to take our puppy out to go potty, before I could get to her, she peed on the kitchen floor directly in front of me. Right away, as I took to handling the challenge head on and went into a one man attempt to swiftly get her outside to finish up any business she still had remaining, and prior to, loosely lay paper towels over the area that was wet so other family members would not unknowingly walk in it while we were outside, it was a tender mercy my husband entered the kitchen at that very moment and offered to take her outside and I was able to stay back to clean and sanitize where she had peed before anyone else came into the room. Time and again, when I have gone about handling a challenge head on, the outcome of my efforts have been nothing short of a tender mercy. 

When has the outcome of your efforts been nothing short of a tender mercy as you have gone about handling a challenge head on? 

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.

Stay Put

Uncertainty if I had come to the right place, I considered going elsewhere instead, yet an impression led me to stay put.

Once I reached my planned destination to purchase a gift for an incredible person’s momentous occasion, due to inclement weather and uncertainty if I had come to the right place, I considered going elsewhere instead, yet an impression led me to stay put. 

As in-person gatherings have become sparse due to the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, my connection with those I used to see on a regular basis has changed some, in the sense I am not as aware of their to date interests and happenings in their lives. 

When I was invited to attend a special occasion for one of them, I wanted to give them a gift, however, as I pondered what to get them, I was completely blank of ideas. Until, early one morning, it was a tender mercy the perfect gift idea came to me in a dream. 

Days prior to the event, it was a tender mercy an evening opened up for me to be able to go out and buy the gift, to which I was grateful as I did not want to procrastinate up to the day. 

Upon arrival to the store I assumed had the gift item, I paused before exiting the car as doubt struck me that perhaps the store I had come to did not actually have the gift item and where it was a rainy night, I did not want to step out of the car into the rain, go inside the store, and walk aimlessly around looking for it if they did not have it. As I considered driving to a different store, I was impressed to stay put and first look up on my phone whether the item was carried in the store where I was at already, and if not, what stores around me carried it. 

It came up on my search that the store I was at did carry the item, however, at a more expensive price then a couple of other stores in the area. Before deciding to go to one of the other stores, it was a tender mercy I recalled the store I was at had online coupons whereas the other main retail stores near me did not. When I looked up what online coupons may be available, there was a 20% off coupon which would bring the price of the gift item down to a comparable price of the item in the other retail stores. 

With this information, I decided to stay put and go inside the store. As I walked around, I came across a similar, even better, more ideal version of the product I sought to purchase, however, it cost quite a bit more than I had budgeted. Yet, with the online coupon, it was more affordable and an amount I was willing to pay. Before going to the register to check out, being that I had not been in the store for awhile since the COVID-19 pandemic surfaced, it was a tender mercy I decided to roam the aisles as I came across a display rack on the complete opposite side of the store with the exact same item as the one in my hand at a discounted 60% off. I was thrilled. At that price, I went ahead and picked up a second of the same item. 

When I arrived at the register and asked for a price check, the item came up full price, however, when I shared with the cashier that the item was in two different locations in the store, on one side at full price and on the other side at 60% off, an employee, a manager I presume, went to the discounted display rack and approved the purchase at 60% off. Woo hoo! It was a tender mercy I did stay put and not only did the store have the gift, they had an even more ideal and better version of it, and I was able to get two of them, a double gift, for a final price close to equivalent the regular price it sold for in other retail stores.

When have you questioned if you had arrived at the right place for something in particular and as you considered going elsewhere, you felt impressed to stay put and further information confirmed you were in the right 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.

Rest Assured, All Is Well

Prior to receiving the impression, “rest assured, all is well”, concern enveloped my entire being as I observed what our puppy may have ingested.

Just like that, as my undivided attention turned momentarily away from our puppy, when I returned my focus to her, prior to receiving the impression, “rest assured, all is well”, concern enveloped my entire being as I observed what our puppy may have ingested.

While our family was hanging out watching TV, our four month old puppy was playing with her toys, when out of the corner of my eye I observed her chewing something suspicious. I quickly got up off the couch and knelt down by her side. When I looked in her mouth, I saw that she was chewing on some polyester stuffing from one of her toys that had ripped apart. I attempted to pry open her mouth, however, fear that she would clamp her teeth down on my hand as I reached into her mouth, I stopped any attempt and immediately called on one of my children, who has with such ease been able to sweep her mouth and remove a variety of questionable things she has been caught chewing on. Within the split second it took for them to get to her, they were unable to find the stuffing anywhere in her mouth. 

I was so frustrated with myself that I did not have the skill and courage to get it out of her mouth while I had an eye on it and I was very concerned she had swallowed it. What did it mean if she had? I sat back down on the couch, no longer engaged on whatever was on TV, but fully invested in researching and seeking to know what to do if she had swallowed it. I read of the possibility it could cause intestinal blockage and to get her to a veterinarian immediately OR it could come out in her poop within 24 hours and in the meantime to observe if she showed any signs or symptoms of illness. 

As a first time puppy owner, I was clueless and had no idea the seriousness, if any, I was up against. Do I lean towards a more assertive action and take her to the veterinary hospital, as the veterinary clinic was closed, or the passive approach to wait it out with hopes she had no digestive issues and it would come out the next morning?

While uncertain what action to take and not wanting to become anxious, it was a tender mercy I felt “rest assured, all is well”. Simultaneously, I was prompted to go where she had been chewing on the polyester stuffing and run my hand along our carpet, a color tone the stuffing blended in with easily. As I got down on my hands and knees and brushed my hand over the area, it was a tender mercy I found the polyester stuffing that had been in her mouth. I was relieved she had spit it out and not swallowed it. 

Several days later, I observed her biting a hole in the corner seam of a fabric covered sand bag, up against our back door to keep the winter cold air out of our kitchen. As a quick remedy, I tied off the hole with a twist tie and flipped the bag upside down to hide the corner from her and hoped she would not be able to access it. Unfortunately, one afternoon as I left her resting unattended in the kitchen while I took a phone call in another room with better reception, she managed to remove the twist tie and further increase the size of the hole. 

When I returned to the kitchen, sand was spilt out on the floor beside the bag and the wire twist tie was missing. Though I was concerned she may have chewed and swallowed the twist tie, I refrained from becoming panicked, just yet. As the thought entered my mind of whether or not to make an emergency call to a veterinarian to have her checked out, it was a tender mercy I felt a peaceful calm that it was not necessary. I felt confident and rest assured, all is well and that I would find the twist tie. 

After I swept up the spilt sand and continued sweeping in the kitchen where she goes to hang out and chew on the treats we give her, next to the towel she lies on while enjoying her treats was the twist tie wire. It was a tender mercy that though she had chewed some of the paper off of the twist tie, the entire wire piece had not been ingested by her. I was relieved and grateful that during these two health scare instances, I received the impression that rest assured, all is well. 

When have you experienced a health scare instance of a loved one and you received a much like impression that rest assured, all is well? 

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.