Category: Well-being

Say What?

Say what? How is it that doing good for another could adversely affect oneself and possibly others?

Say what? How is it that doing good for another could adversely affect oneself and possibly others? 

Unlike other impressions I have received for to take action immediately, on this occasion, I did not feel an urgency to right then and there stop what I was doing, rather, to go and do once I was dressed and ready for the day, at my own steady pace, and before an appointment I was scheduled to be at a couple hours later. I felt Heavenly Father was mindful of me that I not cut short or rush the care I needed to give to myself, of which was a tender mercy. His mindfulness of me, and the minimal window between said events and timing for the recipient, fell perfectly aligned.

I was impressed to deliver a very specific treat to a friend. It was a treat I would first need to go the store to get. I started out at one store that did not carry it and then onto another store. While in the first store, with the treat not yet in hand, I texted my friend to find out if they would be home during the limited timeframe I would be available to come by. As I awaited their reply, I was confident the treat would be at the next store and I trusted my friend would be home to receive it. It was a tender mercy both were affirmed, the specific treat was at the second store and my friend responded they would be home after having just finished running errands. 

Upon arrival at my friend’s home, I was invited inside. As a precautionary measure out of respect due to the prevalence of a COVID-19 variant, I sat a length apart from my friend on their couch. During our brief dialogue, they shared with me that they had recently been in contact with someone who had COVID. 

Slightly thrown off, “say what?” was my internal response and the following internal question, “How is it that I was impressed to bring my friend a treat if Heavenly Father knew they had been in contact with someone with COVID, that in turn, being exposed, I could get it and/or pass it on to another person?” It made no sense. I was not so much concerned for myself, however, concerned for an individual I was about to meet at my appointment who was headed a few days later on a trip to another country. 

Though it did not make sense why I would be impressed to bring them a treat if doing so would bring about potential harm to myself and others, it was a tender mercy I was eased with a realization that all around me were persons who had either had it, were exposed, or asymptomatic, no one immune, each susceptible, for which I felt a peace to not let the gravity of fear take hold and that all would be fine. It was a tender mercy the news did not set me back and I returned my focus to the joy of service rather than projection of the unknown future. 

When have you felt impressed to do something kind for someone, and with it, you learned, post follow-through, of potential harm that could come to you or others as an outcome, of which your “say what?” concern was replaced with peace of mind? 

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 totendermercymoments@gmail.com.

Far Better Than The Fear Anticipated

What became, as I went for it with overwhelming trepidation, was an experience far better than the fear anticipated. 

Following this morning’s school drop off, as I set out to run a planned errand, I received a spontaneous, strong impression to approach a fear head on. What became, as I went for it with overwhelming trepidation, was an experience far better than the fear anticipated. 

Though I grew up with snow, and lots of it, I did not know the angst of driving on hazardous roads conditions, icy roads in particular, until I experienced it first hand. Ever since, the trepidation I feel on snow packed roads with the potential for black ice has become quite intense. 

Over the weekend, via a social media feed, I saw a clip of the first snow of the season in a location a drivable distance away. When the spontaneous, strong impression came on, accompanied with the impression, it was a tender mercy an acknowledgement that today, being a beautiful Fall day in my area, sunshine, white clouds, and blue skies, was a perfect day and a great opportunity, prior to a family snowboarding and ski trip this winter holiday season, to practice driving in the recent snowfall and acclimate to my surroundings while the roads up to where it snowed were clear and dry.  

Though our children have been desirous and very much looking forward to this long-awaited, infrequent, outdoor time on the slopes, I silently, on the other hand, had been petrified and anxious about going as I visualized in my mind treacherous roads along the way.  

As I headed towards the fresh snow, I felt overwhelming anxiety and fear that did not let up the entire way there. My hands tightly clutched the steering wheel. My face went pale. My focus on the road, my breathing, and maintaining my mental confidence overtook my ability to enjoy the Fall beauty around me. I was in full on panic mode, yet, my why—to feel less anxiety while traveling if the roads were snow packed and icy when the time came for our family trip—was my drive to act on the spontaneous, strong impression.

A quarter of the way en route, anxious that my safety and well-being on this solo adventure could be in jeopardy, I felt it best to make a pit stop and call my husband and share with him my plight, where I was headed and the why, so he would know of my whereabouts. 

Ironically, upon my arrival, there was no snow. The snow had melted. The stunning, Fall scenery before me was far better than the fear anticipated. Not only was it a tender mercy I acknowledged the spontaneous, strong impression as an opportunity, while the weather was favorable, to face my fear, without resistance, for a desire for lessened anxiety if winter driving conditions were treacherous, it was also a tender mercy that though I missed taking in the beautiful landscape on the way there, I was able to soak it up and fully enjoy it on the way back. 

When have you sought out to conquer a fear upon a spontaneous, strong impression within a favorable opportunity to do so and you were met with a scene far better than the fear 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 which includes an audio version of the posts as well, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.

Do Not Panic

I held on to the comfort I felt as I heard these words, “Do Not Panic”.

Hearing news that naturally would lend to panic, it was a tender mercy as the onset of this emotion flooded and enveloped my being, I leaned into the words, “Do Not Panic”, that instantaneously entered my mind. Though worry and concern still existed, in each instance the panic resurfaced, I held on to the comfort I felt as I heard these words, “Do Not Panic”, reiterated. 

Upon leaving our residence, as I headed to the car to pick up one of our children from school, a 45-minute drive away, I listened to a voicemail message I missed come through just moments earlier from their school. At the time of day it came through, I thought it to be a general school-wide message, instead it was an auto-generated personalized message during their current class time indicating our child had been marked absent. 

With no known reason why they would not be in class, my mind immediately went into panic mode, consumed with the thought of where could they be and quickly concerned with the possibility that something terrible had happened to them. As I sought to confirm their location per a family shared Find My Iphone App, their last identified location was at home the evening prior. At a time when I needed to know exactly where they were, with their present location unknown, as panic surfaced, it was a tender mercy I received in that moment, words of comfort, “Do Not Panic”, followed with an impression there was a reasonable explanation and all was well. 

Once inside my car, panic again set in as I noticed a bag my child had placed in the car that morning, with everything needed and important to them for an after-school function, was missing from its placement behind the front passenger seat. Concern that our car had been broken into, though everything, other than the bag, appeared to have been untouched, as my whole being began to sink with devastation that of all things taken, it was what meant a great deal to our child, it was a tender mercy the words of comfort, “Do Not Panic”, reentered my mind, along with a peaceful impression that my foremost thought a theft had occurred was not what it seemed. 

Along the 45-minute drive to the school, it was a tender mercy I did not deviate my focus away from the “Do Not Panic” words of comfort that entered my mind and I held onto and chose to trust and believe the impression that “all is well” and “it is not what it seems”.

As I arrived to the school and awaited for our child, who promptly entered the car, unaware and oblivious of what I experienced on my way to pick them up, in our dialogue about their day, I learned the reason they had been marked absent was that they had remained in their prior class longer to ask their teacher a question and the absence they had received would be removed. And, as for their bag, without my having noticed when I dropped them off, they had taken it to school with them. 

It was a tender mercy, All Was Well! Not only that, it was a tender mercy that despite my physical health ailing me, head pressure included, I heard the message, “Do Not Panic”. 

When have you experienced a worrisome moment and you heard the words, “Do Not Panic” enter your mind, and what on the onset got your heart pumping was not actually as it appeared and all was good and 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.

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.

I Don’t Always Know What Is Best

When have you had an “I don’t always know what is best” moment in which a better decision than the one you were about to make came by way of a peaceful impression?

As a mom, I don’t always know what is best. Have you ever taken on something your kids could do because you were concerned with looming what ifs it didn’t get done or in the way you hoped and therefore you decided to do it yourself instead? Essentially, trusting yourself over trusting in your kids.

As our adult children have ventured out on their own post high school graduation to attend college, they have left behind memorabilia and possessions they did not want to take or needed with them. Recently, as my husband desired to declutter our attic, he contacted one of our children via FaceTime to go through and assess together with them their stored belongings to see and decide what they wanted to keep, have sent to them, or have thrown out. 

In the end, what remained for the keeping was a backpack, a few memorabilia, and an important document of recognition which all fit nicely inside the backpack. The backpack was then set aside to be given to them whenever the next time was that we would be with them again. Right around that same approximate timeframe, one of our other adult children called and shared their plans of driving home from college to spend Thanksgiving week with us. 

Perfect! It was a tender mercy that on their return trip back to school, they would be able to take the backpack to their sibling that was unable to come home for the holiday. And, in addition, hand-deliver a Christmas stocking to them filled with wrapped gifts from my husband and I. 

Initially, that was the plan, however, as my mind gravitated to “what if” concerns, I was reluctant and hesitant about sending the backpack, Christmas stocking, and gifts with our child upon the close of their visit. As they would be driving almost a full day and straight through the night to get back to their college residence, worry and fear set in for their safety and well-being, especially during the longer hours of night driving due to daylight savings and if they encountered possible inclement weather conditions along the way. 

If in the event they were in an accident, my mind pictured the loss of the belongings we sent with them scattered about the roadway that may or may not then make it to their sibling. Oh, how my mind goes into natural worry wart mode.  

That being the case, I felt it would be better to not send the belongings with them, but rather wait till our family drove out to visit our adult children at a time when I was confident our travels to them would be much safer. However, I don’t always know what is best. Upon my hedging on what to do, it was a tender mercy I received a peaceful, calm impression that all would be well during our child’s travels back to school. With that impression, I sent their sibling’s belongings, Christmas stocking, and gifts with them.   

It was a tender mercy our child made it all the way back to school safe and sound and that all throughout their travels I felt a constant peace and calm. Also, it was a tender mercy that my husband and I were able to watch via FaceTime the child who was unable to come home open up the gifts we had gotten for them to enjoy during the Christmas season. 

When have you had an “I don’t always know what is best” moment in which a better decision than the one you were about to make came by way of a peaceful impression?

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.

Second Wind, This Or That, Decision

An imperative second wind, this or that, decision made the difference whether I’d be able to nestle in bed for what morning hours remained before my alarm clock went off and sleep restfully or restlessly.


After my nightly sleep pattern shifted a bit due to a necessary nap earlier in the day, an imperative second wind, this or that, decision made the difference whether I’d be able to nestle in bed for what morning hours remained before my alarm clock went off and sleep restfully or restlessly.

‘Tis The Season’. As fall temperatures have fluctuated back and forth from warm to cold and cold to warm weather, my seasonal allergies have kicked in. To what allergen, I am not sure exactly. Could be ragweed, possibly? Whatever is in the air, the associated allergy symptoms leaving me feeling groggy and wiped out combined with the exhaustion of potty training our 10 week old puppy, I felt drained and drowsy midday. 

After I took a much needed nap, later in the evening when everyone had settled in for the night, I had a second wind. I considered staying up into the early morning to watch a real-life mystery/crime show, however, I decided against it as I contemplated how scared I may feel afterwards and opted instead to go to bed. It was a tender mercy I decided to not watch it for as I headed to bed, our puppy was awake and needed to go outside to go potty. 

With everyone sound asleep and I being the only one awake, I took our puppy out into our backyard and into the darkness of the night, lit slightly from a few strands of soft glowing christmas lights hanging between a couple of trees and along a section of fence that were plugged in and our patio porch light that I had turned on. As our backyard backs up to a nature preserve with a myriad of night wildlife, like raccoons and such, roaming about and have on occasion entered our yard, it was a tender mercy I was less frightened to be outside, especially when I heard wrestling in the bushes just behind our fence, than I would have been had I stayed up to watch a mystery/crime show.

When have you experienced a late night second wind, this or that, decision and what you opted to do proved later to be the better of the two?

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.

The Underlying Source Of My Anxiety Fully Came To Light

For more than two decades, I have dealt with intense anxiety while traveling here and there in a car with no idea why or from where it originated. It was not until recently that the underlying source of my anxiety fully came to light.

For more than two decades, I have dealt with intense anxiety while traveling here and there in a car with no idea why or from where it originated. It was not until recently that the underlying source of my anxiety fully came to light. 

I have racked my brain for years desiring to pinpoint any occurrence from whence I acquired the anxiety. Repeatedly, the same multiple memories of driving incidences would come to mind—the time during my childhood days while in the backseat in our family station wagon when our car was one of several vehicles abruptly tapped forward at a traffic light…to a time as a passenger in a vehicle with a road rage driver…to a time in high school as an occupant in a small car with friends and the friend who was driving drove through a stop sign at a main thoroughfare and crossed several lanes of traffic…to when my mom almost ran a red light at an intersection when she misheard my siblings in the backseat say a word that sounded like go…to the time as a teenager on a family trip when I drove through a mountain pass at night and the lights of a diesel truck blinded my view momentarily as the driver rounded a bend heading downhill from the inner lane next to the mountainside and I was climbing uphill in the outer lane alongside a cliff‘s edge. 

Though all were scary moments and it was a tender mercy no one was scathed, I would shake my head and say “nope, none of those feel like the source of my anxiety” and I would continue to wonder and ask the question, “why do I have this anxiety and from where did it originate?” No doubt I have been impacted by each incident, yet nailing down the underlying source of my anxiety has alluded me, until recently when I was back in the city where my first driving accident occurred 30 years ago.

As I was driving home on a parkway during rush hour traffic, I received a premonition I would be in an accident. Moments later, the car in front of me exited the lane and entered a middle lane to turn into a shopping center and then the driver changed their mind and came back over into my lane right in front of me, at which time my front bumper hit their back bumper. Fortunately, it was a tender mercy no physical injuries to either of us or visible damage to our cars occurred. That being the case, the driver was satisfied all was well and we went on our way. 

The year or two following and for a number of years after, while attending college and serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I did not have a car. I either walked, biked, or used public transportation to get around. My first recollection of the apparency of my anxiety was while my husband and I were driving in highly congested areas on our honeymoon six or so years after the accident. From that point forward, my anxiety has surfaced every time I am in a car, yet I have not been able to put my finger on the underlying source until now.

Throughout my entire stay upon my return to this surrounding area where the minor accident occurred, I felt an overwhelming anxiety, greater than usual while driving from place to place. Then suddenly, one evening as I was out and about I had an aha moment, an epiphany. It was a tender mercy it became clear to me right then that my anxiety resulted from the accident 30 years prior. 

Interestingly, I have on many occasions shared the facts of the accident as it comes up in a dialogue from time to time with a purpose to express my gratitude for the head’s up warning, our safety, and that I was not ticketed. Where I was not physically injured, I had not connected nor realized that the accident had mentally impacted me and has shown up each time I am in a car and want for there to always be a conservatively safe distance kept between my car and the vehicles ahead of me in the event a driver quickly pulls in front of my car. It is when that safe distance is breached, I experience intense anxiety, which happens frequently. 

Though this knowledge did not eliminate my anxiety, it was a tender mercy that the underlying source of my anxiety fully came to light and I now know the why and from where my anxiety originated. In addition, it was a tender mercy when one evening as I was close by the very spot the accident occurred, I felt a peacefulness. 

When have you experienced bouts of anxiety to any degree of any kind and not known the why and from where it originated and you felt a comfort when the underlying source of your anxiety fully came to light? 

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.

Back Up Again After The Fall

Even after slipping and falling while mountain biking, I was determined and set to get back up again after the fall and finish the course.

While participating in an outdoor adventure with my husband and children, one that I had never before done, I was a bit nervous from the start to the finish of our mountain biking experience, but I did not let it show. At one point along the way, as I made a jagged turn, slipped, and was unable to regain my footing before landing, I was determined and set on getting back up again after the fall and finishing the run. 

A couple weeks prior, as Spring Break was approaching, our family came together to discuss and plan out what we wanted to do during that time. It was decided that we would each select one specific activity of our choosing that we would then all do together. Among the activities was an indoor waterpark, outdoor ropes course and zip line, escape room, drive-in-movie, and mountain biking.

I enjoy biking, leisure biking that is. However, mountain biking is a different kind of terrain for me to which I was partly apprehensive, but willing to give it a try. As I love being in nature, I figured if I kept my mind focused on that aspect and that alone, I would do just fine. It would not only offset my anxiety of riding an open chairlift to the top of the mountain, but also offset my anxiety while biking down a narrow, rocky trail with threatening edges and intense switchbacks along with other bikers, who by far were faster, more experienced and gutsy than myself.

While ascending uphill the first time around, I was unaware that there was a safety bar attached to the chairlift. It was a tender mercy when almost 3/4 of the way up, one of my children in a chairlift ahead of me noticed that I was riding unrestrained and made it known to me that there was a safety bar I could pull down in front of me. After I gently brought it down, I felt more secure and at greater ease while being high above the ground. 

Once at the top of the mountain, of all the runs, I opted to time and again go down the singular green course that was marked as the easiest of them all. The first time downhill was a dry run. I was pleased that though it was a challenging course, for a beginner like me, it was doable. The second time downhill was my favorite. I was comfortable, felt relaxed and really enjoyed the ride. On my third time downhill, I missed staying up high along a berm going around a bend and turned too sharply into loose dirt within the mid and lower portion of the switchback. Being unable to steady myself, I slipped and fell.

Although I tried resisting the fall, my feet and bike had no traction. I was sliding sideways into base so to speak. Once I came to a solid stop, as I lifted myself back up on my feet and brushed off my pant legs, I could feel my right elbow, right knee, and the inner portion of my left foot start to sting. 

Considering that I was wearing fitted pants and a fitted jacket, I felt it best to keep the sustained injuries covered and not expose the open sores to dirt and debris until I could properly care for them. It was not until we returned home that I observed the extent of my injuries. It was a tender mercy that though my leg was scuffed up just below my right knee, there was no bleeding, only the appearance of broken blood vessels and a visible, yet painless bruise, my right elbow had no scraps or marks whatsoever only a slightly tender internal bruise, and my inner left foot had nothing more than a tiny nick. It was a tender mercy that my having worn long pants and a long sleeve jacket not only served as a covering from exposure to the elements, but also as a protection from being more so injured.

Despite the fall, once I got back up, I was determined to finish the course and I was set on being able to round that same bend over and over again undeterred. It was a tender mercy I did not get stuck in a mental block and I was able to continue mountain biking the remainder of our four hour time at the bike park without again slipping and falling.

Even though the luster of riding casually and blissfully down the nature trail was somewhat lost after I fell and I became more cautious and deliberate as I maneuvered down the course, at times skimming one foot a top the ground as I came around the switchbacks to stay upright and not lose my balance, I strived to simultaneously soak up and take in as much as I could of the beauty around me.

When have you been somewhat nervous about trying something adventurous for the first time and though you fell down and got a little scraped up, you got back up again after a fall and finished the course multiple times over?

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.

Special Occasion Celebration Was Postponed

A special occasion for celebration was postponed when not feeling well on the actual day.

Though my birthday coincided with a national holiday this year and it was not only exciting that my kids would have the day off of school, but also that I was looking forward to it being an extended weekend of birthday fun and relaxation, sadly, due to my not feeling well, my birthday celebration was postponed. 

Traditionally, as a family, when it’s a member’s birthday, we all go out to eat at their favorite restaurant. I planned to go out, but my state of being was not aligned with the day’s agenda. The number of times I tried to get out earlier in the day, I couldn’t do it. It was futile. Each attempt was fruitless. My body just wasn’t having it. Finally, I conceded to not going out at all. 

I loved that it was a sunny day, and though from inside my house it appeared to be warm outside, it was actually a bit chilly which for what my body was experiencing, mostly heavy head pressure, I didn’t want to leave the warmth and comfortableness of my home. 

I imagined and envisioned that holding my head upright while sitting in a booth on a chilly night with the cold going right through me would be quite unpleasant and miserable. So, rather than push myself to do what I originally desired as it would be too much of a strain, I made the decision to stay home. It was what it was and I accepted it, though an absolute bummer that on the one day a year to celebrate me, I was not up to it. 

However, as soon as I relinquished my plans of going out, a weight I didn’t know I was feeling was lifted. I lowered my expectations of what I hoped would happen throughout the day, so much so that by the end of the day I didn’t realize how much I had accepted my circumstances and dissociated from not celebrating my birthday until I was asked by one of my children if I would be blowing out any candles. Though I was surprised that this tradition had completely slipped my mind, the mention of it caused my head pressure to magnify and was a definitive no-go. 

The day was not a complete disappointment though as I had wanted to finish a book I had started weeks back and being able to rest and read the book on this day was wonderful! Not only that, it was a tender mercy when the thought entered my mind that although this day was my actual birthday, I could still celebrate on any other day and it would be just as special. Upon this acknowledgement, my low countenance quickly boosted to happy anticipation of being able to celebrate when I felt better. 

When have you felt unwell at a time of celebration on your behalf and the special occasion celebration was postponed until you felt better?

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.

I Did Not Short Change Myself

I Did Not Short Change Myself When I Had An Option To Select My Favorite Yogurt Flavor Over Another Flavor.

So often I short change myself and place myself “on the back burner” to allow others wants and desires to take precedence over my own.  

It is a thought process and action that stems from my poor, yet modest upbringing as one of the eldest children in a large family. In recognizing the needs of my younger siblings and aware that funds were limited, I took a step back and was content to set aside what I wanted so they could have what it was they needed/wanted. 

It is almost a given behavior, as if it is naturally inherent, except today I consciously took note of it and allowed myself the blessing of partaking of something I really wanted.

Upon my return home from dropping off my kids at school, I took the essential time to eat a delayed breakfast which I often and easily pass up as I jump right into focusing my attention on other priorities, eating not usually being one of them. 

As I opened the fridge and reached in for a small yogurt cup, it was a tender mercy I gave myself permission to select the black cherry. Of the strawberry, peach, and black cherry yogurt in a particular 6 count pack, black cherry is my favorite. Usually, as I do time and time again, I opt for the strawberry or peach because I know others in our family really like black cherry too and not everyone so much prefers the other two flavors, whereas, I do like them as well and I don’t want them to expire and go to waste.

I felt such exhilaration as I allowed myself to choose the black cherry. I thoroughly enjoyed every bite. It was a tender mercy I did not short change myself nor talk myself out of or reason away from my having the yogurt flavor I really wanted.   

When have you allowed yourself permission to partake of something good you really wanted and you did not short change yourself or put yourself “on the back burner”?  

tendermercym❤️ments~jld

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

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