Tender Mercies

I've been thinking a lot lately about tender mercies. What do I consider a tender mercy and how often do they really come past my way. I'm preparing to teach a relief society lesson on Mother's Day and I chose to teach on compassion. I invited all the women to join us and I am scared out of my pants! I've prayed a lot about it and for some reason whatever I have to say we all need to hear! I started to draft my lesson and I came across the words tender mercies. Last Saturday Dave had to work. The girls and I get bummed when Dave is gone on Saturdays. On top of that it was the day before Easter and I wanted to go do something as a family. I got a call late at night (around 10pm) that a newly baptized sister in the ward needed a babysitter for her 1 year old. It was going to be for 9 hours and I really didn't want to say yes. I've been having some stomach problems lately and I was feeling like crap that whole day. The woman was desperate and I ended up saying yes. The next morning rolled around and I had slept terrible. The lady dropped off her daughter in less than desirable circumstances. The girl was really sick and clearly wasn't feeling well. I decided to load the girls up and go to the grocery store. Everyone behaved...I was shocked. We then headed to an Easter egg hunt with thousands of people...everyone behaved. The day went on and it didn't seem like much to have an extra set of messy hands around. Her mother was late to come pick her up and then left with out a thank you. I found out that her husband had been home and she showed up with new painted nails. That usually would of set me off. At the end of the day I knelt down to pray and felt a heart full of love as my head hit the pillow. What normally would've been a day that I complained about the whole day was a day that went better than normal. Avery took a longer nap than normal. Addison played with the new friend and kept her entertained while I prepped for Easter dinner. I accomplished a lot and enjoyed the day. Those are what tender mercies are to me. The day was an answer to prayers and I truly enjoyed serving. I'm learning to serve without hesitation and judgement. I've had to do some hard things this week with my calling. Uncomfortable situations of sisters who are in impossibly hard spots. Situations that I couldn't even dream of being put into. I'm learning what small amount of love Christ has for all of us. It's difficult for me to want to help those that don't seem to want to help themselves. Especially when it pulls me away on a night that I'm tired and haven't seen Dave. This ward has stretched Dave and I to capacities that I didn't think would happen for a long time. Dave help two families move this weekend and then had meetings all day Sunday. I struggle supporting him constantly leaving. Tonight I received an email from a family expressing appreciation for attending their sons baptism tonight. We didn't really know them, but I wanted to go with Dave so we could spend some time together. That was another tender mercy. I needed that affirmation today after a hard day.  After putting thought into what is a tender mercy I hope it makes me more aware of what I can do to show compassion. I hope to pay it forward this week and allow someone else to feel what I've begun to recognize :)