It seems as though the Lord is pouring out blessings every where I turn. Or it could be that I am currently in a place, spiritually speaking, that I am able to see and recognize His abundant blessings. I am humbled as I realize many tender mercies the Lord has blessed me with as of late.
In the LDS ARP manual under Step 2 it reads, "You will see the tender mercies of the Lord in your life as you learn to watch for them and as you come to believe that the power of God can indeed help you recover." (empahsis added)
To be honest, I am not really sure I could have told you what a tender mercy was before I began this journey of recovery. It was a phrase I had heard and had used, but I didn't KNOW what it meant for me personally. I didn't understand WHAT a tender mercy was.
David A. Bednar says, " . . . the Lord's tender mercies are the very personal and individualized blessings, strength, protection, assurances, guidance, loving-kindnesses, consolation, support, and spiritual gifts which we receive from and because of and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Truly, the Lord suits 'his mercies according to the conditions of the children of men'. (D&C 46:15)." (empahsis added)
He goes on to say, " . . . as you and I face challenges and tests in our lives, the gift of faith and an appropriate sense of personal confidence that reaches beyond our own capacity are two examples of the tender mercies of the Lord."
As I face the challenge of moving forward from the pain and despair that I have felt in the wake of huby's addiction and the reality of my own addictions, I truly have been blessed with the "gift of faith". Faith in knowing that He is there for me, to carry me. That He loves me. Faith in knowing that He can heal me. Faith that He can change my heart if I am willing to turn myself, character flaws and all, over to Him. Faith that He hears my prayers and will answer them.
Sunday night my family and I were driving home from a quick visit to my parent's house two hours away. It was late, I was tired, and my two youngest children were crying. And not just crying, they were S.C.R.E.A.M.I.N.G. We were getting low on gas, but I felt that I shouldn't stop to fill up becasuse it was the sabbath. I did think to myself that if I stopped to fill up I might be able to console the little ones enough that the final half hour of the trip would be void of crying. However, I chose not to stop for gas. The crying became worse and was really starting to grate on me and I could feel myself sinking into a dark place. I silently said a prayer to my Father in Heaven asking him to give me the strength to deal with the crying and that we might be able to make it home with enough gas for me to pick up my kindergartener the next morning. While the crying did NOT stop, in fact, it got WORSE the Lord blessed me with the strength and ability to handle the crying. I immediately felt my spirits lift and I was pulled out of the dark place I had been. We made it home with enough gas to make it the following morning to pick up my son and get to town to fill up. This answer to my prayer was a tender mercy from a loving Father in Heaven.
Elder Bednar continues, "The Lord's tender mercies do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence. Faithfulness, obedience, and humility invite tender mercies into our lives, and it is often the Lord's timing that enables us to recognize and treasure thes important blessings." (empahsis added)
I have to come to see that the more I turn my will over to the Lord, the more readily he blesses me. I am inviting "His tender mercies as I use my agency to choose God." What a wonderful concept. The more I choose to be faithful and obedient, the more willing He will be to bless me. And the more my eyes are opened to those blessings.
Monday night hubby and I were blessed to experience an amazing, humbling tender mercy from the Lord. I had been feeling bombarded by whisperings from the adversary and was struggling greatly. I was a sobbing, tear-streaked mess. Hubby asked me if I would like a blessing. Why didn't I think of that? Anyway...hubby then proceeded to give me one of the most powerful blessings I have had or witnessed, next to my own patriarchal blessing. The spirit was SO wonderfully strong. I truly felt that He knows who I am and He is there with me fighting this battle with me. That He loves me.
I am grateful for a husband who was inspired to ask if I wanted a blessing. That he has been living a life of "obedience and humility" and was able, through the Priesthood, to give me a blessing of strength. I am grateful that I, too, have been living a life of faith and obedience and was able to receive such a beautiful tender mercy from a loving Father in Heaven.
My heart is full for the abundant blessings that the Lord has poured out upon me. For the miracles that the Lord is working in my husband, myself, our marriage, and our family. I know that He wants us to heal and to be changed. He is blessing us in those efforts.
"We should not underestimate or overlook the power of the Lord's tender mercies. The simpleness, the sweetness, and the constancy of the tender mercies of the Lord will do much to fortify and protect us in the troubled times in which we do now and will yet live. When words cannot provide the solace we need or express the joy we feel, when it is simply futile to attmept to explain that which is unexplainable, when logic and reason cannot yield adequate understanding about the injustices and inequities of life, when mortal experience and evaulation are insufficient to produce a desired outcome, and when it seems that perhaps we are so totally alone, truly we are blessed by the tender mercies of the Lord and made mighty even unto the power of deliverance (see 1 Ne. 1:20)." (emphasis mine)
May we all be able to recognize the tender mercies of the Lord, that we may remember we are NOT alone as the adversary would have us believe. That the tender mercies truly can "fortify and protect us" in our trials. He truly can make us "mighty even unto the power of deliverance."
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Beautiful post! I feel that we are in a similar place in recovery. I am, too noticing the many tender mercies of the Lord.
ReplyDeleteI love this...
" Elder Bendar continues, "The Lord's tender mercies do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence. Faithfulness, obedience, and humility invite tender mercies into our lives, and it is often the Lord's timing that enables us to recognize and treasure thes important blessings." (empahsis added)
I have to come to see that the more I turn my will over to the Lord, the more readily he blesses me. I am inviting "His tender mercies as I use my agency to choose God." What a wonderful concept. The more I choose to be faithful and obedient, the more willing He will be to bless me. And the more eyes are opened to those blessings."
My temple experience was not by coincidence. The Lord is so aware of us and as we become aware of him, blessings far greater than what we desire will come.
Thank...Thank you for sharing:)