Category: Relief

Is It Worth The Risk?

With limited time squeezing quickly to a close for to take action on a warranty opportunity, circumstances were such that I was reluctant and questioned, “is it worth the risk?”

With limited time squeezing quickly to a close for to take action on a warranty opportunity, circumstances were such that I was reluctant and questioned, “is it worth the risk?”  

Not long after I got a new pair of glasses before our family moved to a new area, while a helper loaded up our storage unit into a U-Haul, the metal spout end of a water hose they picked up, inadvertently whipped in front of me and left behind a scratch on one of my prescription transition eyeglass lenses.  

Once we were in our new home, it was a tender mercy that one of my children requested to go to an optometrist, as through reestablishing with this eye care professional in our new location, it came to my attention that within a few weeks the replacement lenses/frame warranty for my glasses would be up. 

After many of phone calls with a receptionist at our former optometry eye clinic and a couple conversations with our now current optometry vision center, it was almost a possibility that the replacement of the lenses could have been taken care of locally, as each optometry office used the same lab company, unfortunately, the designated lab for each office was located in different states and patient information was not interconnected between offices and the lab, therefore, my glasses had to go back to my former optometry office, then on to their lab, and back to their office before being returned back to me. 

With the local option unavailable, I debated, is it worth the risk to send my current prescription glasses back to my prior optometry office, no longer a feasible thirty minute drive away, rather, more than a day away, which meant, not only would I be without my glasses for weeks, but also, by some “what if” chance they become lost in transit and I never received them back entered my thoughts. Time was running out. Would I keep my lenses “as is” which also included where some of the coating on the lenses had bubbled or get them replaced before the warranty expired? 

I decided to exercise my faith and trust that my glasses with the new replacement lenses would make it back to me, fully acknowledging there was no guarantee, an accepted risk. It was a tender mercy that though I primarily wore my glasses on a daily basis, I had contact lenses I could wear in the interim and prescription glasses from three years prior that, surprisingly, I could see with just as well if not better than my current glasses.

What transpired over the course of the next several weeks was quite the rigmarole. As I no longer resided a half hour down the road from our former optometrist, the round trip shipment cost of $14.98 for the mailers and postage was on me, a small amount relative to the cost of the glasses, yet, a cost I considered, is it worth the risk to take action before the warranty expired if I were to never get my glasses back or do I not worry about sending them and settle with the scratch and bubbled coating until I get a new pair of glasses? I decided to take the risk. 

With the help of a kind mail carrier at our post office, I mailed my glasses that were in their case and included in the mailer a labeled return mailer for my glasses to be placed in and mailed back to me once the new lenses had been set inside my same frame. I paid for tracking for both mailers.

Within a few days, though one day beyond the estimated delivery date, it was a tender mercy my glasses arrived to the optometrist’s office mailbox. They arrived on a Friday and were picked up from the mailbox the following Monday, one week after I had mailed them. One leg down, three more to go. So far, so good. 

After the given timeframe for my glasses to be sent to the lab from the optometrist’s office and returned back to the optometrist’s office, just over a week and a half later, I followed up and learned that my glasses were being mailed back to me that day. Hooray! As I awaited and awaited for the arrival of my glasses with the new replacement lenses, for some unknown reason, when I checked the tracking (a tender mercy I had paid for the tracking), my glasses had traveled in a completely opposite direction of the country than where I live and showed no updated tracking information for ten days. As I contacted USPS seven days after the day the glasses were mailed to me to learn if they had a more updated status and reason for the standstill, I was told, “it was in transit to the next facility” and so I continued to wait. 

Then one day as I checked the tracking, day ten, it showed the mailer had arrived at its destination. Excited, I was ready to go to our mailbox and pick up my glasses, only to realize upon further review that my glasses arrived back at the optometrist’s office, even though the address I had penned on the return mailer was to my home, confirmed by a receptionist at the optometrist’s office. 

Confused as to why it was returned back to them, when I contacted their office, the receptionist read off numerous labels that had been attached to the mailer, such as, not safe to fly, lack of an appropriate customs slip attached, lack of proper postage per the weight and dimensions of the package, and could not travel with postage stamps. 

The receptionist also shared that the courier who had originally taken it to the post office noted that a postal worker, rather than scan the mailer in, they just dropped it in a bin. It made no sense to the courier, but they did not question the postal worker and shrugged off what they thought was too simple and walked away without a receipt with the tracking number and estimated delivery date. 

Hearing this, I was reminded of my sending a package from a neighboring city over a year prior that routed strangely and unfortunately did not arrive to the recipient before they left their temporary stay. To get it rerouted to their home address was quite the saga. 

Suffice it to say, long story short, my glasses that were inside a case with nothing else in the mailer was a supposed safety concern, a liability, tagged as a threat, and returned to the optometrist’s office. As the same courier as before again returned my mailer to the post office, labels removed, they made it a point to ensure it was scanned to return to my home address with no complications and obtained a receipt with the tracking information and estimated delivery date on it. 

A couple of days later, just over a month from when I decided to accept the risk and mailed my glasses, they arrived. Though quite a humorous rigmarole, of which I was not bitter for as much as I was hopeful all would go smoothly, I was also prepared if it did not, it was a tender mercy my glasses did make it back to me. 

After all that, to the question of whether it was worth the risk or not to mail my glasses to replace the lenses before the warranty expired, not knowing if I would get them back, yes, the risk to take action, exercising faith and trust, was worth it.

When have you questioned and debated whether or not to do something and asked, “is it worth the risk?” and the risk you accepted to take was worth 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.

Is This The End?

There are times that life hits hard and it is difficult to see through the darkness, when surrounded by struggle and hardship, and the question pops up, “Is This The End?”

I am an optimistic person by nature, but wow, there are times that life hits hard and it is difficult to see through the darkness, when surrounded by struggle and hardship, and the question pops up, “Is This The End?” 

On this particular occasion, as has come during other difficult times, when down and out and my health was ailing me, my thought was, why strive to maintain a positive attitude with a hope of getting better if there is no getting better and I may as well just allow the illness to run its course to my passing.

Why fight? If this is my time to go, rather than leave my loved ones with a financial deficit by seeking medical attention, if the projected outcome is ultimately, this is it, then why go through the fight? It is a hard place to be, unknowing in those moments if my situation will improve or “is this the end?”

But then, it was a tender mercy a promising thought came that I was not going to die and that the experience of my health ailing me was intended to help me be a better, stronger individual. As I have a desire to live and love life, what a relief it was given me that I was not going to pass away. And, it bolstered my ability to get through the trial with an upbeat attitude as I also have a strong desire to be an instrument in Heavenly Father’s hands, to help fulfill what he would have me to do, to be a blessing to and enrich the lives of others.

When have you been in a very difficult state of being, whether physically or in any other way, and not knowing whether your situation would improve or “is this the end?”, the promise was given to you that you would get through 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.

Not The Anticipated Probable “What if” Scenario

When a scenario I had never heard of before was presented to me and one that was not the anticipated probable “what if” scenario alternatives that had entered my mind, my fear and anxiety dissipated.

Upon a prompting I received to obtain preventive protection in the event of a sustained injury, trepidation set in as my mind contemplated probable “what if” scenarios I envisioned lie ahead for me. When a scenario I had never heard of before was presented to me and one that was not the anticipated probable “what if” scenario alternatives, my fear and anxiety dissipated. 

A couple of days before my annual well-woman visit, out of the blue, I received a prompting to get a tetanus vaccination booster. To this unexpected peaceful impression, angst also set in as I wondered why I would need it and thoughts of painful, “what if” scenarios that may be in store down the road for me from stepping on a rusty nail or broken glass to being in a car accident entered my mind. 

I knew I was given a booster within the last decade, however, I could not recall exactly the date. On the evening prior to my appointment, without any thought of the prompting, it was a tender mercy as I was casually organizing and decluttering a bin of papers, I came across my last tetanus vaccination record.

While at my well-woman appointment, I asked whether the office in-house lab gave vaccinations. Though they said no, I knew I was to receive it. So straightaway, following my appointment, I went to a CVS store. 

As I walked inside, it was a tender mercy when greeted by a concierge, I was able to bypass an entrance line designated for those receiving the COVID-19 vaccination and alongside the concierge, they guided me straight back to the pharmacy. While I awaited to be set up to receive the vaccination from the pharmacist, it was a tender mercy that during a brief dialogue with the concierge, they shared a reason for the tetanus is to be able to be in close proximity to infants and month old babies, a why I had never heard of before and one that would not incur an injury to myself or others. All of a sudden, my trepidation for the anticipated probable “what if” scenario I considered a likelihood washed away. I was relieved. 

Because of the prompting, though I do not like needles, I did not fear getting the vaccination, only the probable “what if” scenarios that would warrant preventative protection. And, because of the enlightenment from the concierge, it was a tremendous tender mercy that when the pharmacist indicated they were done, I didn’t even realize I had already been given the vaccination. I thought they were still prepping the site to administer it to me. Due to my relaxed state, the pharmacist described the needle like going into a sponge verses a rock. Not only did it not hurt when the pharmacist inserted the needle into my arm, my arm was not sore after either. 

When have you feared an anticipated probable “what if” scenario associated with a preventative prompting and a non-injurious scenario shared with you dissipated your anxiety? 

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.

Despite The Perils That Lie Ahead

Despite the perils that lie ahead, I set aside our own well-being to first ensure the safety and protection of another.

Though I had a very direct and decisive plan to get myself and one of my children home as quickly and safely as possible on a winter advisory evening, due to an unexpected delay, despite the perils that lie ahead, I set aside our own well-being to first ensure the safety and protection of another. 

On this cold 30 degree evening, around dusk, as I was taking one of my children to an outing to meet up with their friends, the roads were fine. I am a cautious and vigilant driver as it is and while in route I became even more so as I noted a warning on a highway message board that icy conditions existed on the road. It was a tender mercy we did not encounter any ice along the way and we arrived safely to the destination. 

Soon after I dropped them off, it began raining. Figuring the roads would be more so unsafe to travel on as it grew darker, rather than drive the distance back home, I stayed out to window shop and grocery shop while they were with their friends. Upon completion of the activity several hours later, as I returned to pick them up, the highway was already slick and would assuredly become worse as the temperature dropped further into the late evening hours and early morning. 

Along the practically empty highway and frontage roads, while myself and other drivers, some with their hazard lights on, traveled slowly, patrol cars were out coning off portions of the highway to which I anticipated it would not be long before the major roads would be closed entirely. 

Before the roads became any more treacherous, my plan was to pick up my child and get home as quickly, which was not all that fast due to the road conditions, and safely as possible. Not wanting a repeat experience I had a couple of decades prior when hitting a patch of black ice, losing control, and ending up down an interchange embankment, I drove very carefully. 

At one point, as I crossed over a bridge with only one lane open due to a fire truck in the other lane attending to a vehicle that appeared to have spun out, my vehicle began to fishtail slightly back and forth a few times over the entirety of the icy bridge, narrowly staying clear of the firetruck as I passed by it. Amidst the tense and surreal brief seconds that ensued, my thoughts turned immediately to a fireside message I recently heard by Noelle Pikus Pace about looking where you want to end up. Recalling the experience she shared, it was a tender mercy I was able to repeatedly steady and maintain control of my vehicle.    

At the next exit a short distance past the bridge, I got off the highway and continued on my way to reach my child by means of the frontage roads. The time it took to get to them was slow. Once I arrived to pick them up, I was relieved I had made it to them safely and I was SO ready to be home. Well, it so happened that as my child came out, all their friends exited at the same time too, however, one did not have a ride and was waiting on their parents to arrive. 

Not wanting the friend to remain by themselves, without hesitation, I set aside our well-being, my child and I, to first and foremost ensure the safety and protection of my child’s friend. While we sat in the warmth of my parked car together till their parents arrived, it was a tender mercy as I observed the serenity of the quiet nightscape around me, I felt not only gratitude to momentarily be off of the hazardous roads, but I also felt a stillness and calm despite the perils that lie ahead as the road conditions deteriorated with each passing minute and uncertainty if the passageway home would be open.

Once the friend’s parents arrived, my child and I slowly ventured our way back home along icy roads and across multiple bridges, including a critical one that was frozen. It was a tender mercy we made it home safely and each friend confirmed that they, likewise, had as well. 

When have you set aside your own well-being, despite the perils that lie ahead for you, to serve another whom you observed was in need and after they were situated and all was well, you were watched over and kept safe too?

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.

Was I Truly Coming Down With Something Or Not

Following a quick trip to the grocery store during the Covid-19 outbreak, I began feeling that I may be coming down with something. Was I truly coming down with something or not?

Up to this point, my family and I have all remained healthy and well throughout the COVID-19 quarantine. However, following a quick trip to the grocery store I began feeling that I may be coming down with something. Although the physical symptoms I felt were real, head pressure and queasiness, I wondered if they were manifesting from a false sense of reality or if I was legitimately getting sick. Not wanting to get overly worked up about the possibility of the latter, I stayed levelheaded as I processed through whether I was truly coming down with something or not. 

Since the quarantine began several weeks back, I have become so used to staying home. When it was time to go to the grocery store to get milk, I was not the least bit in a hurry. In fact, I dragged my feet and delayed as long as possible. It was not until the evening of the following day after we ran out of milk that I made an effort to go buy more before the store closed. 

It was my first time out with my makeshift fabric mask covering my mouth and nose since the mandate to wear them while in public places. Upon my arrival at the grocery store, I took the available precautionary measures to stay healthy by using disinfecting wipes supplied by the store to wipe down not only the shopping cart but also my hands after opening refrigerator and freezer doors and picking up packaged meat. 

As I walked inside and was surrounded by other shoppers wearing face masks of differing variations and some also wearing protective gloves along with noting the existence of clear plastic dividers at the registers between the cashier and customers as well as decals on the floors throughout the grocery store for to adhere to the required spacing of physical distance between patrons, an icky feeling overcame me and continued even after I returned home. 

While lying in bed after settling in for the night, my head felt out of sorts and my body was on the verge of feeling achy. Though I allowed myself to feel what I was feeling, I wondered if my body was merely responding to the visible awareness I observed at the grocery store of society protecting themselves from catching the coronavirus rather than my actually coming down with something. 

I considered the experience similar to feeling like having earphones in my ear when I don’t have them in anymore or feeling like I am still wearing roller skates/ice skates after no longer having them on my feet or when hearing about others having lice and worrying if I too have lice when my head starts to itch. 

With the uncertainty of whether I was truly coming down with something or not, I consciously decided to redirect my thoughts away from the possibility that I was, as I felt that if I continued down that path I would probably very well become ill, as the saying goes along the lines of, “If you think you are, you are”. Instead I focused on my body actually being well as I thought about what I do to care for my body and the foods I eat that are healthy. To this thought process, I fell asleep. 

The next day it was a tender mercy that the symptoms I had the night prior were gone. I rested on the fact that the measures I saw in place to protect employees and shoppers was what brought on the symptoms and not that I was actually coming down with something. Phew!!

When have you wondered if you were truly coming down with something or not after being in an environment to which you felt icky and you came to realize that your physical symptoms were in response to external stimuli and not that you were actually coming down with something?

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 post as well, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.

How Do I Combat Feeling So Out of Whack?

An out of whack kind of day!

First, I asked myself the question, why do I feel so out of whack? 

Is it exhaustion after going, going, going for days during a recent vacation? 

Is it overwhelm for the projects and chores in my home needing to be done and the sight and thought of it all has zapped my stamina and energy?

Is it the loss of things I have no control over?

Maybe, it’s all of the above???

I couldn’t quite put my finger on it exactly, but I figured if I talked through the possibilities as to the reasons why I felt so out of whack and then changed my thoughts on how I perceived each, I would maybe begin to feel better. 

As I focused on what I was able to achieve, though it was a struggle moving forward throughout the day considering how “out of it” I was feeling, I felt satisfied with my albeit minuscule, yet, at the same time, monumental accomplishments. 

Picking up the mail that had been culminating for days was simple, however, sorting through it all was cumbersome. 

Driving to drop off and pick up my kids from school was a no brainer (autopilot), yet it required a great deal of physical and mental energy as frequently along the way I was shifting my right foot back and forth between pressing the gas and brake pedal all the while dealing with restless legs and maintaining alertness and attentiveness to the traffic all around me.  

Whatever the cause for my feeling out of whack, it was a tender mercy when at the end of the day I could look back and feel good about the few things I was able to do. 

Particularly, accomplishing the one main goal I had set for myself for the day. After the tedious effort of trying to locate an important paper for a family member I would have much rather put off for another day, I found myself aimlessly doing it anyway because I was confident it was right where I thought it should have been. When it was not and I was unsuccessful at finding it, I then resolved to go a different route I thought would have been an overwhelming process. I was relieved and pleased that getting a copy of it through an electronic means turned out to be quite simple and much easier than sorting through piles of papers. Completing this task when not having been fully up to it was a rewarding feeling and a welcomed tender mercy.  

On top of that, when redelivering someone else’s mail that had inadvertently been placed in our mailbox, with the help of a kind neighbor providing beneficial information when the homeowner did not answer, my efforts as I forwarded the mail to the addressee felt productive. 

When have you felt good about the things you were able to accomplish on a day you were struggling and felt so out of whack?

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.*

Stayed Out Of Harm’s Way

Stayed out of harm’s way when tailgated on a narrow, windy, scenic backroad.

While in route to take my children to school via a scenic path to avoid the morning rush hour congestion along a more direct thoroughfare, I became concerned when after turning onto this windy stretch of road, one lane each way, I observed through my rearview mirror a truck following behind me awfully close, uncomfortably close. Not wanting to get hit, I intentionally maneuvered and adjusted my position to stay out of harm’s way so as not to be directly in front of them, but off center, keeping left near the lane divider line to stay as far clear of them as possible. 

With each frequent stop-and-go for a few miles on this curvy, up and down road that was backed up as well, I was extremely nervous as they tailgated me. I was on high alert, extra cognizant, and continuously aware of the driver’s movements. I considered pulling into someone’s driveway or a neighborhood entrance to let them go ahead of me, but worried how long it would take before another driver would let me back in the line of traffic and the possibility of it delaying my kids getting to school on time. As I continually kept an eye on the truck behind me, I prayed that at the four-way stop some minutes ahead, a different driver would fall behind me, separating me from the driver “riding my bumper”. 

Once at the four-way stop, it was a tender mercy that while I continued to go straight, the driver behind me turned left. 

When has a driver tailgated you while on a windy, narrow road and where it was not easy or convenient to pull over for them to get around you, you were able to stay out of harm’s way and relieved when at a traffic stop the driver split off in a different direction and was no longer right behind 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.*

Applying Ice To The Strain Did The Trick

Ice in home refrigerator freezer box

Somehow I strained the bottom arch of my right foot. I didn’t know how, but wow it hurt a lot all throughout the day when walking around from place to place. I could not trace back what may have caused the injury. I wondered if I had run into something or if something had dropped on my foot. To no avail, I could not figure out how and when it happened. There was no visible swelling or sign of bruising, just excruciating pain. 

As I massaged my foot to release the soreness, I was not able to locate the exact spot or the source from where the pain was originating, however, when standing on it, I could feel an intense amount of sharpness. I tried stretching out my foot, hoping it would help to decrease the pain, but that didn’t seem to work either. 

Later in the evening while out on a date with my husband and not knowing with certainty how long I would experience the prolonged sharpness, I was concerned about training my foot to walk incorrectly if I favored staying only on the outside edge of my foot away from the pain, so I tried hard to walk on it normal and endure the discomfort.

In the evening as I headed to bed, I had a thought to apply ice to my foot. As I elevated my leg slightly, resting it above my blankets, I set a double layered ziplock sandwich bag half full of ice to my foot. In doing so a couple of times throughout the night, it was a tender mercy that when I awoke the next morning and stepped down on my foot, the strain was completely gone with absolutely no indication of it ever being present. An amazing miracle! It was baffling how out of the blue the onset of the strain came on and just as incredible how overnight, after applying the ice, it went away altogether.  

When have you had a body strain that came on out of nowhere and being unable to stretch it out or massage the soreness away, it was through applying ice that the sharp pain dissipated altogether as if the strain had never been there at all?

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.*

Teeter Totter

For days, I was experiencing an unpleasant nudging pain inside my body that I knew was associated with stress. On one hand I was super excited and looking forward to amazing occasions upcoming and on the other hand I was feeling a disconcerted apprehension for the nerve-racking occurrences that lie ahead, outside of my control, and directly coincided with each event. I felt like I was on a teeter totter, seesawing from feeling joy and enthusiasm to floundering with concern, worry, and anxiety. 

During the frequent moments of uneasiness, I felt stuck, discombobulated, and overwhelmed. It was all too much and very cumbersome to have the constant fluctuation of feeling elated anticipation and angst toggling back and forth, over and over again. I was struggling to relax and feel at peace. 

Similar to when you plant your feet firmly on the ground while on a teeter totter and the up and down motion discontinues, utilizing breathing techniques, speaking to my emotions out loud, and reciting a scripture phrase that entered my mind, “doubt not, fear not” helped to ground me momentarily as I sought to try to overcome the distress that kept creeping in, however, the undergone tightness in my body was still apparent and persistent. 

It was a tender mercy when I was impressed to get off the “teeter totter” altogether for the time being and literally step outside to run an errand unrelated to the occasions and events sourcing the contrasting emotions. It was then that I obtained reprieve and the physical pain eased up. 

When have you been caught between bittersweet emotions causing you distress and as you felt impressed to break away from the source temporarily, your stress ailments subsided? 

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.*