Tender Mercies

This past Tuesday at my church religion class (institute for those of you who are LDS, which is pretty much everyone at this point), the instructor gave a great lesson on the "Tender Mercies" God has blessed us with. Towards the end of class, he gave us time to write down the "Tender Mercies" we've felt in our lives. I'm really grateful for that time in class to reflect on this past year of my life, which was a great transition from one of the biggest trials I've ever faced.

Earlier that day, we celebrated my brother's birthday at my parent's house. As I was reflecting during the celebration, I thought about all of the events that I was able to participate with my family this past year:

• First time in 10 years that I was home for Christmas AND Thanksgiving.
• First time my family came to my church service, which happened to be on Easter, to watch me sing a solo.
• First time in over a decade that my family watched me perform in a music group (First Coast Wind Ensemble)
• Countless times I've been able to visit with my Mom and keep her company while my Dad was away going about his daily business.
• I've been blessed to finally babysit my niece and be a part of her life.
• I've started a side business in photography with my brother.
• I feel like I'm a part of "family issues" again...
  

Besides my family, I've had numerous reunions of sorts, of both friends and extended family.

I didn't need Tuesday night to know of the love and mercy God has for me. It's always been line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little.

About a year ago, I abruptly moved "home"...broken, both spiritually and emotionally. I was questioning God on why the path I had set forth had been so vehemently diverted. It's been a slow and steady recovery. For all intentionally purposes, I have pretty much recovered, although I am still struggling in temporal things, like finding my new "career". For some reason, though, this has been a welcoming struggle.

But one of the great blessings, the "Tender Mercies", from God is that I am once again a part of my family's life. Each day, each event, just adds to the "happiness" in my life that I haven't had in a long time. My life now, at this point, revolves around them, in that I'm not looking for experiences or careers that will move me from Jacksonville. In a lot of way that has made my life easier. Besides, there have been numerous times I've been able to share my religious beliefs with my family (through words and deeds).

I'm so grateful for a thoughtful and loving God, that knows me personally, who has brought to me (again) this "Tender Mercy".