Category: Happiness

Romaine Lettuce Recall

I was struggling and just not myself on this day and come late afternoon I was trying to figure out what I could do that would help me regain feeling like myself again. I didn’t know if scrolling through Facebook would help me or not or if it would be better for me to take a break from Facebook. I wasn’t exactly sure what would help me get out of my rut. I went ahead and opened up Facebook and the first post I saw was a news release for a recall on Romaine lettuce. I happened to have recently purchased Romaine lettuce. I found out after calling the store to confirm if it applied to the lettuce I had bought that the recall went out a week earlier and it was just then I was learning about it.

It was a tender mercy I saw the post and our family had not yet eaten the lettuce. Not only was it a tender mercy I became aware of the recall and was able to return the lettuce to the store, but this experience brightened up my day. It was something so small and so simple, yet made a huge difference for me. It seems strange and it is hard to explain that it was this that helped me become giddy and cheerful once again. I was filled with gratitude for the tender mercy.

When have you experienced happiness in an unlikely way on a day when you have been in a rut or struggled not feeling like yourself?

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, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.*

Taking It Easy

The day after Thanksgiving, on Black Friday, we had guests come visit us. Prior to their arrival, I had ideas for festive, holiday community activities we could go and do together. As I began planning and scheduling when to go pick up Santa passes for a specific time later in the day and the arrival and departure times from one activity to the next, I started to feel stressed. And, add to that, not knowing what all they would be up to doing after traveling for several hours to come see us, I decided to not have a scheduled plan and take one moment at a time and go with the flow. Right away, I felt peace and I felt a calm. I didn’t worry about going and picking up the Santa passes or if we even went out at all.

As I changed to this casual approach, it was a tender mercy that the day and the evening went so smoothly. Because I didn’t lock myself into a timed plan and had no expectations, I felt relaxed. We enjoyed ourselves and had so much fun. There was no rush and no hurry to get from one place to the next. We focused on the immediate activity and when that was complete, we collectively decided whether we wanted to go to another activity. It just so happened that by the end of the evening, we did all of the originally planned activities I had wanted to do with them. The difference was that it was more relaxed and less stressful.

With each activity there were tender mercy moments all along the way. When we went bowling, we arrived and all the lanes were full except for two, the two that we needed for our families. We took our time and had fun.

Then we went to the next place. That’s where Santa was as well as Christmas crafts and activities. I didn’t get Santa passes beforehand so I wasn’t expecting that we would see and visit Santa and get pictures with him. As we were walking up to the location, the mother of the family that was with us mentioned wanting to get Santa pictures with her family so we went to the Santa station. Not only was there no line at the Santa station, there were passes available for both of our families 15 minutes later and we were the first in line for that time-slot. It was fantastic! In all the years that we’ve been to this place, we’ve never been able to see Santa with such ease. It was incredible!

We then headed off to dinner. We wanted to go to a place that happened to have a wait time of one hour for seating inside. That day was a warm day relative to the prior couple of weeks of cold weather. It was really really nice outside. We called ahead and asked if there was outdoor seating and they said yes. As soon as we arrived, they had a table ready for us. We went straight to the table and above us were heaters. As the sun set and it got a little cooler, not only did we have a wonderful meal, great food, live music behind us, an amazing location, beautiful scenery, we also had warmth. And, there was a play area for the younger kids to come and go throughout dinner while the older kids and adults were able to sit and talk and enjoy visiting with one another. It was awesome!

After dinner, we all decided we still wanted to go on to another activity and that was seeing Christmas lights. It was a drive-thru Christmas display and I was concerned because we were in two vehicles and their vehicle was larger than ours. I didn’t know if theirs would fit down the narrow passageway and underneath the archway of lights. I tried to call the location, but there was no answer so we took a risk and we went there anyway. When we got there, it all worked out nicely. Their vehicle wasn’t too wide or too high. It was a great way to end the day!

There were so many tender mercies throughout the day. It was great that it went so smoothly. It was a huge tender mercy that the casual approach was a less stressful and more relaxed way to spend our day together!

When have you gone from having a structured plan to going with the flow and your day went so much more smoothly; and miraculously, you accomplished all that you originally wanted to do with less stress?

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, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.*

Why This Popcorn?

While strolling through the aisles at Sam’s Club, I came across a new brand of popcorn. I felt impressed to get a bag of Black & White Drizzlecorn although I was uncertain as to why I was getting it. After making my purchases and exiting the store, I observed a homeless man and his dog sitting against the wall of the store. As I was putting my groceries in the car, I felt prompted that I should give him something I had just bought. I wasn’t sure what until I saw the popcorn and knew right away that was it. When I took it over to him, the bag was facing the backside. He turned it around and as as soon as he saw the front, he smiled and said thank you.

I didn’t know at the time why I was getting the popcorn, but came to learn later the reason. It was a tender mercy that even though it did not make sense to me to add something to my cart I wasn’t really wanting, I followed the impression and realized it was meant for him.

When have you felt impressed to purchase something you didn’t plan on getting and you learned later that it was meant to bless the life of another?

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, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.*

Not All Was Lost

My husband and I were desirous and looking forward to attending the homecomings of two returned missionaries. They were the first of our son’s (himself being almost 3/4 of the way through his mission) group of friends to return home after serving a two year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and we were awaiting word as to when they would be taking place in their respective home wards. Time got away and I heard nothing until one day while in dialogue with a friend at church, I learned that they had already happened. I was bummed to hear the news that we had missed their homecoming talks.

Later that same afternoon, our family was attending a meeting at church. As we were preparing to exit the building, I looked down the hall and I saw one of our son’s friends in the foyer. It was a joyous reunion! As I was talking to him, the other returned missionary came out of the chapel. And shortly thereafter another one of our son’s friends also came out of the chapel into the foyer. Being able to talk to and see these two returned missionaries and the other friend of our son’s was an incredible experience!

When hours earlier I was sad that I had missed their homecomings, it was a tender mercy that here they both were in our building and we crossed paths and saw each other at that very moment in the foyer as we were preparing to leave the building and they were entering their meeting that was about to begin. It was awesome!

When have you been disappointed that you missed a missionary homecoming, a friend or loved one’s birthday party, baby shower, graduation, wedding, etc. and the circumstances and timing of crossing paths with them later was remarkable, replacing the sadness of wanting to have attended their special occasion to the joy that not all was lost and you were now seeing and spending one-on-one time with them?

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, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.*

Catching Spills

After making chili for a church function, I was unsure how I was going to transport it as I was concerned about it spilling in the car on the floor and the seats. I had a few minutes to figure it out before we needed to leave to be on time. As I asked my husband what we could do, he had a brilliant idea to put the crock pot inside a medium sized stock pot. It fit perfectly and if there was any spilling, it would be in the stock pot rather than in the car on the floor or the seats. It was a tender mercy that in a moment when I was trying to find a quick solution, my husband was standing nearby and thought of one right away. It was an ingenious solution.

When have you been on a time crunch trying to figure out a solution to a concern and it came by way of someone standing close by you?

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, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.*

Time Stood Still

When our family gathers together for our weekly “Family Home Evening” where each member participates doing one of the following—the song & prayer, scripture, lesson, activity, treat—rotating who does what each week, it can be chaotic and crazy when any one person is tired and cranky.

On one of these evenings as our kids were slap happy and it was getting on my nerves, for a moment, time stood still. Amidst the noise and rowdiness, I captured a glimpse of our togetherness. It was a tender mercy when I observed that everyone was present, participating, and engaged. Despite the noise spiraling around me, for a few seconds it was all tuned out and I captured the love that everyone has for each other. Instead of feeling frustrated, I felt joy.

As the days when our kids will disperse and leave home are getting shorter and shorter, I appreciate, value, and treasure very much our time together. I was grateful for the tender mercy to see beyond the loud commotion and recognize the blessing of our being all together and interacting with each other.

When has time stood still for you and you have captured the joy of being together with your family amidst chaos and commotion?

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, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.*

Continued Expression of Gratitude

It was weeks before I came to a knowledge that we were missing our HDMI adapter. One day while in our church library, I noticed a hand-written note with an adapter attached and the name and number of a family friend in another ward who found it. Initially, I did not realize it belonged to us and then came to learn that my husband left ours on a TV he checked out of the library a month earlier when teaching a Sunday School class. Seeing the note and finding out it was ours before we knew it was missing was a tender mercy eliminating any fret, anxiety, and stress I would have felt over trying to figure out when and where we used it last. When I saw our friend later passing by in the hall, I reached out to express an exuberant thank you.

About a month later, a youth Sunday School teacher came to the library looking for their HDMI adapter that they had left on the TV the Sunday prior. For a number of weeks they returned to the library asking if anyone had seen it or if it had been found. Sadly, the answer was no. I was hopeful that it would be returned to them just as ours had.

Then one day after church as I saw our friend walk by, my thoughts turned to the happiness I experienced for their efforts in getting the adapter back to us as well as the sorrow I felt for the teacher’s loss. I once again expressed my immense appreciation and mentioned the teacher who was still looking for theirs. To that, our friend said they saw an HDMI adapter on their bishop’s desk and had wondered if it belonged to the bishop or if it was someone else’s. Following our dialogue, they asked their bishop and learned that the adapter was not his and it was given to me to return to the other teacher. I was beaming with excitement and gratitude.

Through this interaction and the sharing of information, it was a remarkable tender mercy that our friend also knew the whereabouts of the other teacher’s missing adapter. I felt joy being able to return the adapter to the other teacher.

When have you either been the recipient of a missing item returned before you knew it was lost or have casually mentioned another’s lost object to a friend and that friend had information and knowledge of its location?

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, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.**

Oranges

For days my allergies were really bad. I was a mess. I was miserable. One morning, I was wanting Vitamin C. What I really wanted was orange juice or an orange. The closest thing that I knew we had were lemons. I squeezed some lemon juice in a cup of water and hoped it would help. Later, I noticed after one of my children made their own lunch that they had an orange on their plate. I excitedly expressed, “we have oranges?!” I was amazed! Seeing the orange on my child’s plate drew me to the fridge to see that we had more. What a tender mercy and a huge blessing to discover in this way, that what I wanted most we had.

When have you been grateful to realize and learn through someone else that what you really wanted and needed you already had— perhaps it was similar to the orange or maybe it was a skill or talent, strength, confidence, etc?

tendermercym♥ments~jld

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

**To receive an email when new posts are published, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com**

Hidden Gem

I knew I hadn’t eaten all the mini cheesecakes a wonderful friend had given me this summer. I wanted them to last as long as possible and to be able to enjoy them over a long period of time, I froze them. One day as I went to get one, I could not find them. I pictured the number of remaining ones. I was certain I still had some.

After looking and looking, I resigned to the fact that because they were so good perhaps they were enjoyed by other family members too. After all, sharing is caring, right? And, if I kept them all to myself, that wouldn’t be right, right? I told myself this so I could better accept if they were truly gone.

Amazingly, one evening when pulling out a bag from the freezer to begin making dinner, tucked away in the very back, I still had some left!! Happiness! Joy! I was excited and looked forward to eating a couple of the tasty cheesecakes after defrosting them. Yum! Yum!

When have you been excited about finding something you valued and treasured that had been tucked away, lost and then found?

tendermercym♥ments~jld

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

Timing Was Perfect

One evening as I was preheating the oven to begin dinner, my husband called and shared that he expected it was going to be a late night at work. I changed up the meal plan for our kids and I and held off preparing it until later. As the food finished cooking, my husband came through the door, arriving home earlier than either of us had anticipated. We were both very happy! The timing was perfect.

Then the next day, I was out all morning into the early afternoon and prior to picking up our kids from school, I stopped at a new restaurant that I had wanted to check out, most particularly because I had a coupon for BOGO Free burrito that was ending that day.  While watching the burritos being made, my husband called and asked if I was interested in joining him for a late lunch. I had a big smile on my face and said absolutely! The timing was ideal. I had lunch for him and for me and we were able to enjoy time together! So awesome!

When have you been overjoyed when a loved one or friend showed up at the perfect time to join you for a meal?

tendermercym♥ments~jld

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