Category: Gratitude

Trash Day Reminder

At a time I was wrapped up in a crisis and uncertain to what the future holds, I also felt peace and comfort. I knew I’d face further challenges down the road, yet the particulars were unknown. Even though I was scared and that aspect brought great anxiety and concern, I was reassured through the Holy Ghost that all would be ok. As I was in constant prayer with Heavenly Father, I felt a strength in knowing I was not going through the difficulty alone. I am grateful for the growth and learning I have gained through hardships, at the same time I do not look forward to their impending approach.

This experience was happening simultaneous during an unusual week for me. Half of our family were gone with our oldest son serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and my husband and youngest son at Scout Camp. It was different having only myself and our two middle children at home. The first day it rained hard for hours leaving the day bleak and dreary until dusk when for Family Home Evening (FHE) we went outside and played ladder ball. The second day was filled with preparing, gathering, and organizing necessary forms and information to have available and ready for the next day’s appointments. Also on this day, the three of us enjoyed a free entrée from Chick-fil-A as we dressed up looking like cows.

Although the days were hard and my disposition was solemn, I was grateful for activities we were able to do all together. I put on a smile and actively participated even though I was not at my best. It was no easy feat, but worth the effort.

And then early evening on the third day,  I felt lost contemplating the trial I was experiencing and not having clarity on what was going to happen and what I should do.  My heart was aching and my voice was cracking. Despite having faith and feeling comfort and peace, there was also a void and a sense of uneasiness to what struggles were still to come.

As I sought to find peace from the uncertainties constantly consuming my thoughts, I listened to inspiring messages on “Hi Five Live-Facebook” to ground and anchor myself to our loving Heavenly Father. I also made it a point to go outside. I appreciate nature and going for walks. As I stepped outside to be in a place where I could quietly and outwardly express my pain to Heavenly Father, I noticed right away the neighbor’s trash cans were out. In the midst of my troubles, I felt a joy and a gratitude for the reminder of the next day being trash day.  If I had not stepped outside, I don’t know that I would have remembered. I recognized quickly that this visual reminder was a tender mercy.

I know Heavenly Father was very mindful of me. Not only did he understand and know my hurt and suffering, he also knew my desire to not miss trash day. Seeing the trash cans removed me briefly away from my sadness, and I was filled with immense appreciation. Although I was struggling greatly, I am thankful I did not miss the tender mercy. I don’t know what the future holds, but I do know Heavenly Father is aware of me and something as simple as a visual reminder that the next day was trash day was a blessing to me.

When have you recognized in the midst of your trials, a tender mercy that is small and simple yet meaningful to you?

tendermercym♥ments~jld

It’s Not Too Late

While I was out and about running errands, I saw that my phone had a very low battery. I would notice it in the store and then I would forget about it when I got out to the car. Time and again, I’d remember just minutes before arriving to the next location. Initially, my thought was,“what’s the point if I only have two minutes or at the longest 10 minutes to charge my phone.” Then I thought, “even if I can only get 1%, 2%, or 5% in a short period of time then it’s not too late—something is better than nothing at all.” The smallest increase was valuable to me to not lose connection with my husband and children while I was out and about.

When have you questioned if a supposedly insignificant action was worth it, and your effort resulted in a better outcome than not trying at all?

tendermercym♥ments~jld

Self-Sufficient Kids

Observing and watching my kids accomplish various tasks on their own is such a joy. As we arrived at a bowling alley per the request of one of our children, there was nothing I needed to do as a mom other than ask for a specific lane we wanted and pay for the shoes and the game for each family member.

Each child picked up their own shoes and bowling ball and our youngest set up everyone’s name on the screen.  My husband and I sat back and enjoyed bowling and watching our children play.  It was wonderful spending quality time together.

It is quite exciting for me as a mom to be in a place where my kids are capable and able to do so much themselves. It’s a fun stage as they are proactive, independent, self-sufficient, and take initiative.  Individually, we are all very competitive when it comes to playing games and that has helped us separately improve are skills, in this case—bowling, and as a family, support and compliment one another (win or lose) and build stronger bonds with each another.

Shortly after we began playing, our two youngest boys went together to seek a different bowling ball better suited for our younger one.  It was neat seeing them work together as well as watching our daughter and middle son having fun interacting and taking pictures together.

What are you enjoying and appreciating with your children right now in the phase you and your family are currently?

tendermercym♥ments~jld

Package Arrived Early

As we were less than 2 weeks from leaving for our family trip, one of our children ordered some items on line.  The expected arrival was within 3 days before our departure. I prayed we would get them before we left and they came 4 days earlier than the provided range dates.  It was a relief and a comfort to have less to worry about prior to heading out on vacation.

Have you received a package earlier than expected when the timing was important to you?

tendermercym♥ments~jld

Task Completed

I was not looking forward to spraying the interior of my house, however, the spiders and bugs are entering in as Spring is here and Summer is quickly approaching.  I am most concerned that I may step on a scorpion and with a family trip coming up, I do not want to return home to an unpleasant surprise as we did many years ago watching a live scorpion scurry across our kitchen floor. I made it a point to take care of the spraying today.  It took a couple of hours to prep (sweep and pick up dead bugs and trash along the floorboard) and spray the interior rooms.

It was a task needing to be done.  I was grateful to be able to do it while my kids were in school and the house was empty allowing the spray to dry undisturbed.  Although is is a task I do not enjoy, it was worth the effort to have peace of mind that I can walk around in my house and worry less about stepping on a scorpion or a spider or crush a bug.

When have you felt gratitude for a task completed, not one that you particularly wanted to do, but in doing so felt a peace of mind?

tendermercym♥ments~jld

A Rubber Band

While shopping, the bottom of my shoe separated from the top. I sought for a solution and considered a rubber band. I hesitated asking a store employee. When I decided to ask, they had one just the right size to double wrap and hold my shoe together. Awesome! I was grateful to continue shopping wearing my shoe intact.

Why did I hesitate to ask? I am one who is self-reliant and struggles asking others for help when I need it. I also did not want to receive something without paying for it first and at the same time I did not want to pay for a rubber band I had at home. I was essentially stunting myself. As I considered the logic behind my initial decision to not ask, I pushed my reasoning aside and asked an employee who happily found one and gave it to me at no charge.

Have you hesitated asking for help when you have needed it, holding yourself back for whatever reason, and then when you did ask, you were grateful for the blessing you received?

tendermercym♥ments~jld

Disguising Oily Hair

Today my hair needed to be washed. It was clear and visible to me that it was oily, but I did not have time to wash it before my day started. I considered options to hide it and cover it up like wearing a hat, but I didn’t own a hat so that wasn’t going to work or pulling my hair back in a ponytail, but if I did that it would still show it was oily on top.  So I thought of a style that would interweave my hair in a way not covering up my white highlights, but that my oily hair would not be as obvious and it would look clean and beautiful.  I was happy with the results and grateful for a solution to disguise it until I could return home to wash it.

What have you done on those days when you have been unable to wash your hair and you were still able to walk out the door looking nice and feeling good?

tendermercym♥ments~jld

Craft Room Supplies

I have had a craft room for a number of years that began when I hosted an annual Christmas party. That was a wonderful time and a season that past about seven years ago.  Since then, my craft room has remained mostly untouched except for times when my kids have school projects and they’re in need of supplies.

Most recently, one of my children needed paper to make origami designs for an up-and-coming Eco Fair.  Recyclable resources were needed, preferably with the least amount of out-of-pocket expense. It feels so good to have readily accessible resources available to help my kids with their projects.  I love seeing their creativity and ingenuity using what I have on hand to help with their great ideas. Being able to walk into the craft room rather than go to the store to purchase supplies saves so much time, energy, and stress. It is exciting, fun, and exhilarating to share what resources I have in buckets and on shelves, intended to bless the lives of others.

Do you get excited about resources that you have available and on hand that can help and benefit someone else?

tendermercym♥ments~jld

Overflowing Abundance Of Blessings

I met up with my youngest child and his school class today to tour a cavern. I was grateful for simple directions to the location. It was a tender mercy I did not get lost or turned around. How many times do you rely on GPS for directions and you find yourself in a completely different place than where you intended?  I’ve had that happen to me time and time again. Today, I was grateful that was not the case. I had a little bit of familiarity with where I was in the beginning to navigate with more confidence in myself than in GPS, and then I relied and trusted in the correctness and assistance of GPS the rest of the way.

It was a beautiful, scenic drive along a route with little traffic and my steering wheel had no pulling and tightness. I am not a fan of congestion or traffic and so the smoothness and easy flow of the drive was a tender mercy! My steering wheel for the past couple weeks has, on and off, tightened while turning. This morning, it happened briefly; but the entire drive to the cavern and back, it was a tender mercy there were no issues.

Preceding the approximate 45 minute drive, one hour before leaving, my right leg was acting up and was very restless. When I experience this discomfort, napping relieves it. After I dropped my children off at their respective schools, it was a tender mercy I had time to take a nap, resting my body before making the drive and I had no further problems with my leg.

And, it was a tender mercy there was a discount on the ticket price for school chaperones! I was happy for the discount. It was still pricey, but less, by several dollars, than an otherwise very expensive entrance fee ticket to the cavern.

A highlight of the field trip was the tender mercy of being able to spend time with my son at the cavern, particularly right now as he enjoys having me join him on his field trips. It was a fun and memorable experience with him!  He was very loving, kind, and considerate of me. He alerted me and kept me safe from bumping my head while passing through a tight place. He saved me a seat on a bench a couple of times in areas where we could sit down and listen to the tour guide rather than remain standing. He saved me a place next to him at a picnic table with his friends at lunch time. He expressed and showed his love for me throughout the tour and gave me hugs. I am grateful I was able to join him and share this special time together.

I had been to this cavern two years earlier with one of my other children. I wasn’t thrilled about returning with the mindset, “been there, done that”, but I wanted to be with my youngest and have the experience of being with him. In the end, I enjoyed very much the tour and was grateful I had returned as there was a lot I had forgotten. It was a fabulous afternoon, even if a bit cold and windy. The time with my youngest was valuable and priceless and worth the pricey ticket to revisit the cavern with him.

Yesterday, I was experiencing a lot of doubt, fear, and concerns and it was a tender mercy those doubts, fears, and concerns were lifted on my way home as I chose to listen to a CD, “Say Love” by my favorite music artist, Hilary Weeks. Her music spoke to my heart and provided a strength I was lacking yesterday. Today, I felt the Spirit and a renewed calm and peace.

It was all in all a very pleasant drive to and from the cavern and an all-around very good day with multiple tender mercies and I am truly grateful!

Do you have days that are complete flops and you feel depleted, lacking energy, strength, and stamina and then you receive an overflowing of blessings that give you renewed faith and courage to face life’s challenges? How do you work through those difficult times? I tell myself to put one foot in front of the other and keep taking baby steps forward, one step at a time, even if it is a shuffle and I can barely pick my feet up. As I serve myself (like brushing my teeth), and others (making a simple family meal heating up a can of soup), I am actively doing something to keep myself afloat. What do you do to keep yourself up and going between those not so good and good days?

I am grateful for the knowledge that each day is a new day and there is “light at the end of the tunnel”. The amount of time in darkness may be unknown, but the light will come if I keep moving forward. It is this knowledge I have preceding the hard times and a hope I hang onto during really hard times that helps me get through the bleakest of moments. If I did not already have that belief prior to the challenges, getting through the challenges would be even harder.

tendermercym♥ments~jld

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

Weak In Appearance; But, In Fact, Strong

While shopping at Sam’s Club, I was deciding on which container of laundry detergent I wanted to purchase. One container looked damaged and so I was looking for another that looked ok. In the meantime, an older gentleman that looked fragile offered to help and assist me in lifting the detergent out of the box and place it in my shopping cart.

I am sure to him it appeared as if I were struggling to lift the detergent out of the box when at the time I was only checking them out and not ready to decide on one yet.  Nonetheless, he helped me by pulling out one of the detergents (it happened to be the one I questioned; figures, right) from a box and attempted to put it in my very packed shopping cart. I expressed my gratitude for his help.  Although he appeared physically feeble, he had strength.  He walked away with a smile on his face and I was happy I accepted his assistance.

He was with his wife whom seem pleased as well. He was able to help and the service that he had rendered to me, I could see brought him joy. Although I was capable and had the strength to lift it out myself, in no way did I want to take that experience and opportunity away from him. He, too, was capable and able, although his frame looked weak and fragile. We have strength within ourselves that maybe others do not see because our strength is quiet and unnoticed. As we extend ourselves outward and share our strength, it can and will bless the lives of others.

My life was touched by this older gentleman, his strength and the service he provided me. Have you been thrown off at times when others have offered their assistance, but it didn’t seem like they had the strength or capacity to assist you? Have you been taken back when the appearance of one thing was quite the opposite and contrary to what you thought? Do you allow others to help you when their help seems questionable?

Life can surprise us sometimes and I am grateful for those opportunities to see things in a different light than what I initially considered to be the case, especially when the outcome is greater and better than I could have imagined. At the time the gentleman helped me, I was preoccupied with a phone call and was a bit tangled up with earbuds in my ear and my phone in the shopping cart and trying to stretch and get to the detergent without ripping out the cord was tricky.  I also had a slightly sore shoulder so even though I could have done it on my own, his help did come in handy and I was appreciative. And, in addition, for those who are OCD like me, the detergent container had a small indentation, but no leaking.  I did good to overcome my tendency to replace it and did not go back to trade it out, but kept it and purchased it.  Yay for me. That is huge!

tendermercym♥ments~jld

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