Phew—No Parking Ticket!

Late Saturday morning as I was looking out our front window, I noticed our car was still out in the street from the night previous. I began to panic and my heart started racing rapidly. I was concerned that we had a ticket either on our driver’s side door window or windshield. 

In our neighborhood, parking on the street overnight is not allowed. And, if you do so, you can expect to come out the next morning and see a ticket on your vehicle. As I stepped outside to move our car back into the driveway, I was nervous. Then I realized it was Saturday and that on the weekends if you’re parked in the street overnight, you won’t get a ticket.

It was a tender mercy that on any night to not remember to bring the car back into the driveway, it was on a Friday night that I had forgotten and we did not have a ticket on our car. 

When have you expected to get a ticket for a traffic ordinance oversight and you were relieved when you were not, after all, in violation of a restriction and issued a ticket?

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.*

Remained Intact

After a fairly recent hailstorm, many homes in our neighborhood received sufficient enough damage to their roofs to warrant a total replacement of shingles. As contractors were scraping off and removing the old shingles from our neighbor’s home, I was concerned when the debris fell into our yard and on top of our grapevines. Since planting the grapevines a few years ago, this would be our first year harvesting them and we’ve been looking forward to enjoying our homegrown grapes. It was a tender mercy when a single shingle landed directly on top of the grapevine canopy and the clusters of grapes weren’t impacted and remained intact.

When has your home, vehicle, garden, fruit vines, trees, or other possessions on your property survived a very near casualty?

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.*

Before and After

Every so often I go to a chiropractor to receive an electrical stimulation therapy treatment for when my legs are either moderately or severely restless. When I became aware, through happenstance, that my chiropractor’s office would be closed for a couple of weeks later in the month, I was worried that a heightened discomfort in my legs would likely kick in when the chiropractor was out of the office so I proactively scheduled the next soonest available appointment, which, fortunately, was less than 24 hours later.

Although for several days I had been enduring a subtle restlessness in my legs, I was trying hard to ignore it was happening. Being in denial and not wanting to accept that my legs were on the verge of needing another treatment so soon after my last one and very much desiring they would not worsen, I did not anticipate that very evening the restlessness in my legs would reach an intense level beyond the mildness I had been pushing through and tolerating. They were now driving me nuts to the point I flat out could not focus, process information, or concentrate on hardly anything. I had reached my threshold. Coincidentally, it was a tender mercy I had set up a few hours before the appointment for the following day.

All the next morning and into the early afternoon preceding my visit, I felt out of it, off, and drab. I was especially self-conscious of my faltered clarity of thought when stopping at a couple stores prior to my appointment and interacting with someone who looked familiar to me and with another individual who knew me personally, but I couldn’t place anywhere we had previously met. As my conversation with the latter continued for about 10 minutes, it was as if I had amnesia. I could not rack my brain to recollect or remember any dialogue we have ever had before that day. And, I was concerned that my side of the dialogue was coming through distorted. As I smiled and made an effort to retain all that was being shared with me in hopes of figuring out where we had met and how she recalled specific details about me, I felt like a mess and was too embarrassed at the time to ask those questions. 

At my chiropractor visit, I learned that the probable reason and source of the irritated nerves and muscle soreness in my legs was that my hips were out of alignment. After an adjustment to balance my hips and a treatment for the restless legs and muscle tightness, I was immediately able to think more clearly and my conversations with others were definitively better and improved. 

It was a tender mercy that simply balancing my alignment along with a therapy treatment made all the difference in my cognitive wellness from a state of being in a haze to regaining the ability to focus, concentrate, and process information as well as carry on a coherent dialogue with others. 

When have you had a simple and timely adjustment and/or treatment from a practitioner that changed your overall health dramatically?

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.*

Prepared For The Worst

Through numerous heartbreaking occurrences I have undergone, I’ve come to know that good things do transpire from facing challenges and I’ve become a better person because of the trials and hardships I’ve encountered. Nonetheless, I do not look forward to any of those difficult moments, however, they inevitably happen. Some come suddenly and unexpected and some are foreseen. 

On this day, I prepared and braced myself mentally for an unnerving interaction I was sure I was going to have later in the day. I wanted to be my best self and handle the situation well when faced with what I thought would be a definite negative experience. Although I was ready, it was a tender mercy the experience that I anticipated and prepared for the high probability would occur, never did. I was relieved and grateful it didn’t happen. 

When have you prepared yourself for a negative experience you were sure was likely to happen and you were relieved when it didn’t end up taking 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, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.*

Adjustable Pre-Purchased Park Tickets

Over Spring Break, our family traveled out-of-town to visit several theme parks. During the week, Monday through Friday, we had pre-purchased tickets to a different park each day leaving the weekend for one day to drive back home and, before our kids returned to school, another day to recoup our exhausted energy after many long days of nonstop fun. 

Our days were packed full from sunrise to sunset. After 2 solid days of walking a lot and standing in lines, tiredness and sore feet set in and an unexpected occurrence derailed our plans for Wednesday. It was a tender mercy we had the flexibility to extend our trip one more day and fit in a day to relax midweek. The much needed break was essential allowing us to rest, leisurely prepare lunches and snacks for the latter half of the week, take it easy and enjoy a slow-paced day of napping, reading, and pool time. It was also a tender mercy that our purchased park tickets were able to be altered and switched to another day and the rearrangement at the end of the week did not set us back any to get home in time when school started back up.    

When have you experienced a change in your travel plans and you had the flexibility to extend your trip an additional day(s) and a pre-purchased ticket for something planned on the day that was derailed was able to be altered and changed for another day within the timeframe of your vacation?

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.*

Downsizing My Everyday Purse

When, spur-of-the-moment, our family was offered NBA basketball tickets for a game in our city a few hours later, my husband and I gladly accepted them. Normally, I would be reluctant to go anywhere near downtown due to intense levels of anxiety I experience traveling in highly congested areas, but, surprisingly, I felt minimal stress on this particular night. 

Just minutes before walking out the door, I recollected a restriction on the allowed size hand bag that could be brought inside from having attended an event at this arena and another sports arena several months back. I quickly switched out my “mommy” purse for a smaller purse. Upon arrival at the game, I observed a fellow walking back towards the parking lot with a purse in hand. It was a tender mercy I recalled the bag size limitation. I was grateful to have not been in a similar assumed predicament experiencing the inconvenience of walking a distance back to my car to drop off my purse. It was also a tender mercy that on this evening, traffic was light and parking was a breeze. 

When has an inconvenience while out not occurred as you recollected something of importance last minute before leaving your house? And, when have you appreciated moments your anxiety in high stress situations was less than you anticipated?

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.*

Redirection

Not long ago, I was asked by someone if I would help them in a way they very much needed. I felt compassion and recognized that their need was of great importance, however, I did not have the skill set to be able to help them.

Worried about taking on something that was not a natural ability for me but one that would require a lot of effort and time and would be extremely stressful, I was very concerned with how to gently turn them down without it causing concern or impacting negatively our association with each other.

I felt a lot of anxiety and pressure weighing on me. I didn’t quite know what to do. I fretted for days and prayed, seeking an answer to know what I should to do to maintain my health and happiness at the same time not creating any unfavorable distance between us when I was unable to individually fulfill their need.

It was a huge tender mercy when one morning while out, I was guided to an amazing person I have become acquainted, who has the essential skills. Why I didn’t think of them sooner, I don’t know, other than I believe the timing was not a coincidence.

I felt the stirrings of the Spirit prompt me to provide their information to the one needing help. I felt joy and relief. I was extremely grateful for this answer to my prayer and happy I was able to be a conduit in redirecting this individual to another person who was better able to give and provide adequately what was needed in a manner I could not. It felt good to be able to help them in some way while also not taking upon myself unhealthy stresses. 

When have you lacked a particular skill that was needed by someone asking for your help and you were able to be a conduit redirecting them to another person you had been guided to who had that essential skill?

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.*