Tender Mercy 7: Chance Encounter of a Lifetime

So I have an aspiration to write a book about how I came to understand the real purpose in my adversities and how they helped me come unto Christ.


Some people may see it as just a pipe dream-I'll admit, I still wonder about that. But the truth is that Heavenly Father has given me a great many challenges in this life not so I can just grow from them myself, but so that I can help others come to an understanding of their own challenges and be able to recognize and accept Him in their own lives.  I don't just have a dream to share this, I have been compelled to. Recently the Lord told me something that I have heard before (hence all these blogs of mine), but not with as much power as this time: "You have had hard experiences; you have a testimony of them. You have a voice [to share them]. USE IT."  That struck me to the core. It's rare that I get inspiration or guidance through specific words, so when I get them, I realllllly listen. These words say it perfectly...

I prayed hard in the days after receiving this inspiration to know if I should really do this. And I have felt the same good, powerful feeling, over and over again, that I should.
The truth is, I don't know if I will ever accomplish this. It's kinda huge, you know? In order to be picked up by a publishing company, you have to be noticed by them first. You have to have some kind of recognition and following first. That's my first hurdle. But I know that I must move forward and try to. From there, I trust Heavenly Father will make whatever He wants to happen, happen. So I've come up with a plan and started to move forward with it. And part of that plan is praying for opportunities to get my voice heard, and for an "in" into the writing world, so to speak. And yesterday, Heavenly Father answered that prayer in what I think is a very awesome way.
My husband, Brian, and I had gone to City Creek Center to drop off his computer at the Apple Store, and my husband suggested we go into Deseret Book before we left. Well, I forgot and he remembered as we pulled out of the parking garage about that DB part. Brian suggested we go back, but I wasn't in the mood. I was sick and tired and just wanted to head to our next destination without a delay so we could get home ASAP. But he persisted-which I soon became extremely grateful for-and I agreed about a minute later and we made a few turns back to another parking lot entrance. Little did I know that our "delay" would bring a tender mercy for my desire to write this book. Oh, the Lord is so good and he orchestrates EVERYTHING!!
It was after we walked in the door and towards the portrait section that I saw a man sitting behind a table filled with books and a sign that said:
"Dean Hughes Book Signing
November 29, 11:00 am"

I had to do a double take! Dean Hughes??? I absolutely LOVE this man! He is the author of several LDS books, and his Heart of the Children and Children of the Promise Series are two of my favorite series of books. I had no idea he'd be here for a signing, it was a delightful bonus! We passed by his table and I told Brian, "I want to stop and talk to him for a few". It was perfect timing, just barely 11:00 and not a single soul was at or coming to his table.
"Mr. Hughes?" I asked as I approached his table slowly. (I realized as soon as I said it that I should have said "Brother" Hughes, haha.)
Yes!" He said as I extended my hand to shake his.
I started by telling him that I loved his books and thanked him for writing. I told him I loved to write as well.  He inquired as to what I liked to write. I told him that I journal and blog, inspiration-based, but that I had just started writing what would be a book about the adversities I've had in my life and what I have learned from them. From there, we had a 5-minute conversation in which he told about and invited me to attend a writing conference that he and a few other LDS writers held in Midway once a year. I could hardly believe it! What an incredible opportunity, and straight from the author!
The main thought going through my head while this conversation was still happening was that if we had remembered and gone into the store 15 minutes before, this would not have occurred. God is so good, and He makes miracles! Talking to Brother Hughes was a boost I needed and strengthened my resolve to keep moving towards this book. And attending this conference would be a great networking opportunity. It won't happen this upcoming year, as it occurs on our baby's due date, but the next year if I can make it! I don't know where this will eventually lead, but I do believe the possibilities are great. Those possibilities are only possible if I go after them, so that's what I'm going to do. Thanks to my Heavenly Father and his tender mercies :)

Tender Mercy 6: A Car Crash

Hello Friends! This next real account comes from my best friend, Rose Johnson. Rose and I have been through a lot together, and have shared many similar but separate experiences. One would be car crashes we were both in a few weeks apart from each other earlier this year. It was zany that they happened like that; and we helped each other in the aftermath in the best way we could. Rose directly benefited temporally from the crash in a way she never expected. I know how hard the crash and the ensuing challenges were afterward, and to know that it ended up benefiting her as it did, well, it's truly a tender mercy from a loving Heavenly Father :)

I never knew how I was going to pay for my wedding when that time in my life came around. I often thought and even sometimes worried about it.  I worked hard at my job and was able to support myself as a single woman, however was never able to save very much along the way.  I always had enough for my needs though. I was always taken care of by my loving Heavenly Father.  This alone was a tender mercy.  However, one of the biggest tender mercies that he showed me happened in January 2015. 

I was driving on my way to work in my 1997 black Honda Civic, the weather was foggy; which I thought was neat!  I was about a mile from my home when a car came out of no where and slammed into me sending my car across three lanes of the road.  I came to a stop and was completely fine besides being shaken up.  My car I wasn't sure, but once I got out I could see the damages were more than just minor.  We called the police and did all the necessary procedures that follow when involved in a car accident.  After many, many telephone calls, it was determined that my car was a total loss.  The process was hard and I was discouraged at times because of the slowness of it all.  I never realized how much I depended on my car until it had been taken away from me.  After a lot of waiting, I received a check in the mail that would allow me to find another car and be able to put a down payment on it.  I was happy and I considered this to be such a miraculous blessing alone.  I had no idea that the biggest tender mercy was still yet to occur. 

I felt that things in my life started to get back to normal after my car accident and the routines of life were at a good balance.   I had been dating an amazing man since November and things continued to progress in our courtship.  We soon were engaged and I found myself planning our wedding! It was fun, exciting and a lot of work.  It was probably the half way mark during wedding planning when I realized that the car accident I was involved in January was paying for our wedding in July.  The check that I received from the insurance company was more than I expected.  I actually was able to put most of it in savings.  I felt completely loved by my Heavenly Father for providing a way that I could marry the man I waited so long for.  

My husband too was a tender mercy that was placed in my life. I couldn't have made it through this experience without him.  As I look back on the past year, I can now better see all of the tender mercies along the way. I know that our Heavenly Father knows of every need and worry that we have and provides ways for them to be met. I never thought a car accident would be a tender mercy, but in my case it was. 

Rose Johnson-happily married to my sweetheart since July 2015

Tender Mercy 5: Discouraging Camper

This tender mercy comes from Staci Richardson, who is my husband's cousin and a woman I am so grateful to now know! While working at a girls camp over the summer, she prayed for something she needed and got it in a way which was at first challenging. It just goes to show that God answers prayers in mysterious but perfect ways. Here is Staci, and her story...

Sometimes trials can be tender mercies.  My tender mercy came in the form of a stubborn 13 year old girl. 

I had the privilege of working as a counselor at Oakcrest LDS Girls Camp this summer. As a counselor I would have a group of 8-12 girls each week. My responsibility was to love them, to help them feel and begin to recognize the Spirit, and to provide a positive example for them. 

During one of these weeks as a counselor, I didn’t feel that I was being firm enough with my girls. I always tried to push the girls to do hard things and do things they didn’t want to do, because I knew that by doing so they would grow. This particular week I was feeling discouraged because I felt like I wasn’t able to give correction in a loving way. I felt like I was nagging my girls all week to do the right thing and I didn’t like the feeling that I had at the end of the week after the girls left. 

I decided to pray to my Heavenly Father to help me have the experiences the following week that would show me that I can be firm and give correction lovingly. Well, the following Monday came and each counselor got her group of girls. I turned out only having nine, which was pretty small and I was excited to have such a small group. We returned to our cabin so that the girls could unpack. As we were in our cabin one of the assistant directors came with two more girls. Their names were Sarah and Mia, and they had been reassigned to our cabin for the week. Luckily they already knew a couple of girls in our cabin so I wasn’t worried about them making friends. 

Throughout the morning I noticed that Sarah was pretty negative and tended to put herself down a lot. As we got to lunch all of sudden she started talking about how much she didn’t want to be there and she wanted to go home. I remembered back to the prayer I had offered the previous week and knew Sarah was sent to my group for a reason. I knew she was a tender mercy. 

By the time Tuesday came along Sarah was pretty uncooperative and it was really affecting the rest of our group. I finally took her aside and talked to her. I told her that she had to make a choice. She could choose to be happy and have a good time or she could choose to be miserable. I was pretty firm with her but told her how much I loved her and wanted her to be happy and have a good time. I said a prayer with her at the end and afterwards told her that if I heard another negative thing about herself come out of her mouth then she would have to say three nice things about herself. 

I didn’t hear Sarah say another negative thing about herself the entire week. She was still a little stubborn throughout the week but I learned that as long as I was firm with her then it was okay. By the end of the week Sarah didn’t want to go home. She turned into one of the most loving 13 year old girls I have ever met. I know that Sarah was sent to my group to teach me that I COULD be firm and give correction in a loving way. It wasn’t easy, but it certainly was a tender mercy. I hold a special place in my heart for Sarah and all she taught me that week at Oakcrest Girls Camp.

Tender Mercy 4: The Portland Miracle

This tender mercy comes from Kira, one of my closest friend's. She and her mother were in Portland a couple of weekends ago, and while there got caught in an absolutely terrifying situation: on the road with three lanes worth of cars coming at them head-on. What they did next turned out to be their tender mercy. Here is Kira's story :)

Last weekend my mom and I drove to Portland, Oregon for my grandpa’s celebration of life. He actually passed away almost two months ago, but was cremated and didn’t want a service. Leading up to the trip we prepared the car….got the tires rotated, oil changed, new brakes, rotors and a new radiator since the old one had a slow leak. The car was prepped and ready to go! 
On Friday when we started making the 12 hour drive I was continuously praying that we would be safe and not have any car troubles. The last thing you want on a trip is car troubles. It was a long day. Driving for a day straight is exhausting! Finally around 7:30pm we arrived in Portland safe. 
We hadn’t booked a hotel beforehand (I forgot), and were trying to find someplace to stay. I had been trying to find someplace on my smart phone while driving throughout the day, but didn’t have any luck. I would usually get frustrated and stop looking. By this point, it was dark and we were tired. We wanted to stay somewhere close to Lake Oswego (where my step-grandma lives) and we missed the exit on the highway, so we took the next available exit. At the bottom of the exit ramp, we turned left and there was a Fred Meyer. My mom was driving, so I told her to pull into the parking lot so I could figure out where we were going. 
If you have ever been to Portland you know that it is an interesting city. All of the buildings are set back from the road and there are medians everywhere. There are three lanes going one way, a huge median with trees and flowers growing in it and then three lanes going the other way on the other side of the median. 
We were in Portland and still didn’t have a place to stay, so we called my step-grandma to ask for suggestions. She immediately told us to stay with her, but we didn’t really want to intrude and just wanted to crash that night from the long drive. She told us the name of a street (Kruse Way) where a lot of hotels were located, so we started to drive and see what we could find. I hadn’t found Kruse Way on my smartphone map yet, and my mom started driving. I wasn’t paying much attention because I was looking for Kruse Way. 
My mom got to the exit for Fred Meyer (the same one we entered from) and turned LEFT out of the exit. As soon as she turned and there was a median on my right side I said “Mom, we are going the wrong direction, turn around!”  We were in the inside lane right next to the median and going the wrong direction. My mom was confused and didn’t think she was going the wrong way, so she slowly kept driving. That’s when it happened, the scariest moment of my life! 
All of a sudden the light from the highway exit turned green to all the cars turning LEFT from the exit ramp and they were heading straight towards us. 

Since we were in the inside lane there was NOTHING we could do except sit there and honk the car horn. The first two cars flew by us on the left side, and then a delivery truck was coming at us HEAD ON and VERY FAST. We were honking and screaming and I just knew we were going to get hit. Somehow, MIRACULOUSLY the delivery truck driver honked and barely missed us! I just knew he would at least clip our car since he was going so fast, but he didn’t!  Right after the delivery truck passed we tried to make a U turn and get out of the way, but there were still cars coming in the other two lanes and we were unable to make a U turn until they passed. Once we were making the U turn I noticed that our HEADLIGHTS WERE OFF! My mom had turned them off when we parked in Fred Meyer and hadn’t turned them back on. That makes the story that much MORE MIRACULOUS! The fact that we thought we were doing all we could to make the delivery driver see us by honking our horn was immaterial. It was DARK and we didn’t have our HEADLIGHTS on! The fact that the delivery truck driver saw us in enough time to miss us is INCOMPREHNSIBLE. 

I know with surety that Heavenly Father was watching out for us and protecting us! My prayer that we would be safe was answered! To this day, I can’t comprehend how the delivery truck missed us, but I am grateful and know that we are blessed! 
No matter what we pray for big or small, Heavenly Father is aware and eager to answer our prayers in His time. I’m so grateful for the power of prayer and these tender mercies that help us remember the things that really matter in life.

Tender Mercy 3: Tender Mercy of the Hospital Change

I am so excited to share a story from my friend, Natalia Garcia Davis. She is an amazing woman and mother. She's my first guest blogger, and her story is truly AMAZING. Here, in her own words, is the story of the tender mercy of a prompting that ended up saving her newborn daughter's life. Thank you Natalia for sharing!

I feel as though Heavenly Father has his arms wrapped around me.  Protecting me and blessing my life in a way that not many people in the world get to enjoy on a daily basis. One of the evidences of this is the miracles that occurred in bringing our daughter into our lives. 
First, I felt guided to change the location of her birth to IMC instead of Riverton hospital. I felt strongly prompted to do this a few weeks before my due date. IMC happens to have some of the best neonatal doctors and medical teams especially for complications during birth, as well as an excellent NICU and staff, which will be important later on in my story. I went into labor about 3 pm that day but didn't know it because it just felt like back pain. Then, around 8 or 9 pm that night I knew I was in labor and my water broke, but again I didn't know my water broke. This was because it wasn't a gush or spurt like most people I had talked to, but a slow, very gradual leak. Because of this I didn't admit myself to the hospital until about midnight when the contractions were getting more intense. 
Our daughter was born 3 and I/2 hours later. It was a very fast birth, way faster than I expected. When she came out she was not breathing and the intensive care "crash team" immediately came in and got to work resuscitating her. I found out later the cord had been wrapped around her neck and was choking her as I pushed her out. Because of this,  I am so grateful that I happened to be at a hospital that dealt with this so well and was especially prepared for these kind of situations.  She was breathing well within a couple minutes. 
I also found out later that if I had stayed with my former provider,  they did not have the same kind of staff and unit ready and had a much smaller intensive care unit, and that they would have life flighted her out to a different hospital and they would not have let me in to see her so shortly after her birth.  I got to enjoy precious hours with her after her birth because I was at IMC. 
She also developed a serious bacterial infection where her white blood cell count was 23 and it should have been no higher than 1.5! She was admitted to the intensive care unit and was well after one week. I am certain that she would have died, if this had happened in a different time without all the available care and technology that we have now. 
I also felt that I was surrounded and supported by many deceased family members beyond the veil, especially my sweet grandmother who passed away the fall prior. I felt the presence of her loving, quiet strength throughout my most intense moments of labor. For all these reasons, I know with a sure clarity that God extends tender mercies to us all, especially in our darkest moments and challenging experiences. He doesn't take the trials or problems away, but he does extend tender mercies!

Natalia, her husband Micah and their daughter Eliza :)

Tender Mercies 2: Trimester One

These past 6 weeks have been some of the most challenging and trying of my life...and with my medical history, that's saying something :) It has also been bountiful with tender mercies. I haven't written about them until now because it all has to do with a little bit of news that we've been keeping hush-hush...until now. The reason....I'm pregnant! We've hit the 11 week mark, had our first doctor appt and second ultrasound, and are ready to announce it to our family and friends. You have no idea how liberating and exciting it is to finally share the news!

I always wondered how my body would respond to pregnancy. Now I know. It has been like nothing I have ever experienced before. Let's try to paint for you an accurate picture, shall we?

Imagine the worst nausea you've ever had, times it by 3 and it DOESN'T. GO. AWAY. FOR. WEEKS. You are extremely fatigued but are unable to sleep more than 2-3 hours in a 24-hour period, are shaky, physically weak, and your heart pounds so hard it feels it's going to jump out of your chest. You also have severe headaches and abdominal pain, and all tastes and smells disgust you-even that fabulously-scented soap that your friend gave you for Christmas! Gag!-and the look of and thought of any food makes you want to hurl. All. The. Time. For the first 4 weeks I was in survival-mode: living simply to be able to eat, sleep and go to the bathroom. Those were the main priorities, and my body had to fight for them.
It's one of the lowest places I have been in my life. I could not control it, and the medications and suggestions to remedy the sickness either worked a bit or had no effect at all. It was a very lonely and dark place to be. A very dark place.
Life was constant misery, lived laying down on a couch in a tiny apartment, alone, with every smell and taste, loud sound, bright light, movement, or even touch from other people surrounding me increasing the sickness. I just wanted night to come so I could try and sleep and escape it all, even if only for a few hours. I could hardly work, go to church and my social calendar became completely non-existent. Never before had I been so isolated and felt so alone. My other illnesses had never taken me completely out of life and functioning like this one.
I felt no excitement over a baby coming from all of this because I couldn't grasp that glimmer in the middle of all of the crud. I knew the Savior was there, but I needed some human supporters. But because we weren't telling most people, not even family yet, I was going through this so utterly, utterly alone. A few of the people I did tell out of necessity responded to my plight by saying, "Sometimes you just have to push through it", or "I couldn't take a break when I had morning sickness. I had to work, be a mom and do everyday things."
Couldn't these people see that I was already pushing myself hard to function? Couldn't they see that I couldn't control what was happening to my body? That I could hardly hold myself up? That I was literally breaking down right before their eyes because I could hardly eat? Couldn't they see that I needed some understanding, even if they couldn't understand what I was going through because they hadn't experienced it themselves?
I wanted it all to end, but never once, did I want this pregnancy to end. I never wanted that life inside me to cease simply so I could feel better. I had a bit of faith carrying me through, and I held onto it like the Iron Rod. 
So I started asking the Lord for some tender mercies, specifically to help me not feel alone. I asked for understanding and support from other people. And one by one, sometimes in throngs, he delivered.
The first was having our first ultrasound at 7 weeks. Being able to see that baby brought beauty to the pregnancy in the midst of the misery. 

We have a blueberry! Or rather, a blueberry-sized baby!

The primary president in our ward cheerfully took over singing time for the 3 weeks when I couldn't attend church. One of the gals in the Primary presidency had also been very sick with her pregnancies and we sparked a budding friendship. My husband told the primary gals that I am not the kind to ask for help, and they gave him their phone numbers and told him if  I wouldn't ask for help for him to tell them instead! The bond that has developed with these women has been very strong and I know I can turn to them.
My friend and supervisor at work helped come up with a plan to help lighten my load right now. I have fewer kids on my caseload, and I won't have to see kids later into the afternoon when the sickness is the worst. This was a huge blessing!
My sister has been one of the biggest supports of all. She gets horrendously ill with her pregnancies-hyperemesis gravidarum anyone? She definitely had it MUCH worse than me, and is the closest person to me who knows what this is like. I cannot express how grateful I am for her! She checks in with me, has offered help and talks with me when I am having an especially hard time. I wish she hadn't gone through what she did-it was pure hell for her-but I am so grateful because it means she can be there for me in a way no one else can.
My closest friends have come to visit, one even bringing and making dinner for us! My best friend Sarah brought by a gift of a baby toy by last week to help me remember what the result of these 9 months will be, a beautiful child. In the throws of the first week of my illness, she sent me this, which I have continued to look at from time to time when I need help keeping perspective....

One of the biggest surprise blessings came in the form of some of the mothers that I work with that showered me with understanding because they had experienced the same thing. It was absolutely overwhelming! They validated how hard this can really be, and told me that if I ever couldn't keep my appointments with them because I was sick, they were totally okay with it. 
I had appointments with those mothers on some of the days that I was struggling the hardest, and they boosted me up in ways that no other person could have. I know that I was supposed to see them on those days,  or rather, that Heavenly Father knew I would need those mothers on those days, and he orchestrated it so I could have one morsel of empathy to help me get through one more day.  
That's the way Heavenly Father works. He doesn't always give us all we need or take our problems away immediately, but gives us little morsels, manna, if you will, to sustain us, one minute, hour, day or week at a time. And though that is hard to accept sometimes, I am glad for it. I see Him more because of the challenges in my life. I see His hand in the challenges, letting me know I am not alone, I am not forgotten, I am not unimportant to Him. It is in all the seemingly small and insignificant things that He does for me that show how significant I really am. 
Though the sickness is still here, it has lightened over the last few weeks with meds that help some, less stress and time. I have felt the power of the prayers of others as I try to function each day. I feel more excitement for this pregnancy and the baby that will be born. I am glad that through it all, Heavenly Father had poured out tender mercies upon me. And He really has poured them. I know He will continue to rain them down upon me, even in the midst of the raining down of trials and troubles. Because He loves me, and He is a God of Tender Mercies :)

Brian and I with our little one :)

Tender Mercy 1: The Crash

Events in the last two days really made for the perfect beginning to this tender mercies journey, in a kind-of crazy way that I never would have asked for myself. Here we go....
On New Year's Eve, I was going about one of my last morning's off before going back to work. I went to the local Smith's store to purchase some groceries, dropped them off at home and then got back in my car to head to the gym. I reached an intersection about 1-minute away from my house and stopped at the red light. I had been there probably only about 20 seconds when I heard a BOOM, SCHREEEEECH and saw a large, gold truck coming straight towards me and my baby (My 2000 Honda Accord). In that one second I braced myself for impact. If a camera could have captured the look on my face, ooooooo...it makes me shudder to even think about it. The truck slammed into my car head-on, then flipped and landed on it's driver's side. The impact pushed my vehicle back about 12-15 feet and crunched my front-end. As quickly as it began it was over.
As soon as my car stopped moving, my hands flew to my phone and I shakily called 911, waiting an ever-so-long 2 minutes before I got an actual operator. I got out of my car as I dialed and went along with about six good Samaritans to the turned-over truck to check on the driver inside. Then I noticed another car in the intersection that was completely crushed in the front.
I can remember so much, yet a lot is a big blur.  Throughout the next hour, I gave my report to the police officers that arrived on the scene, talked to a couple paramedics who wanted to see if I was okay and tried to see if the man inside the truck was okay. He was conscious, but had a bleeding head wound that needed medical attention. I was praying that he was going to be alright, saying prayers of gratitude that he was alive after the rolling his vehicle did. I tried to hold in the tears that I knew were going to come but that would have to wait til I was taken away from the chaos on the road. I let my loved ones know I was alright and tried to keep warm-it was absolutely freezing outside and I was in my workout clothes! Fortunately my parents were both home and could come get me and take me home.

My car after the accident

The truck after emergency personnel sawed off the top to get the driver out.

While this was a traumatizing experience, and two days later I am still literally shaking and feeling emotionally fragile, I am not ignorant of the blessings and miracles here. And the amazing tender mercies that Heavenly Father has bestowed upon me, and also others involved. I want to share a few of them, as they are too real and good not to be shared!

• It was a miracle that, with how fast the truck was traveling, my car wasn't crunched up worse. Although the impact was hard, the airbags didn't go off, and there was no one behind me, so I and my car didn't hit anyone else, which would have made the damage to my car and my body much worse, and would have meant one more person or persons would have been hurt.
• The other two drivers involved both sustained injuries, I walked away without a scratch or bruise. Two days out, I have begun to have some neck discomfort that I will address, but I wasn't seriously hurt. I normally don't wear my temple garments when I work out, but that morning I simply felt and wanted to wear my top, and I truly believe that having that on protected me from bodily harm. Seriously! That is a promise we are given, and who am I to question that promise?!
• There were angels in the forms of ordinary people who saw the accident and responded by running into the road to help us. They stepped forward when something dangerous happened right in front of their eyes. They weren't asked to answer a call of need, they just did it. A sweet nurse who works at St. Mark's hospital just down the street from where the accident occurred kept asking me if I was okay, and though I said I was, she ushered me to her car, got me a blanket and brought over the paramedics to see if I was okay. I gave her many thanks and a big hug as she left, but I wish I could find her and thank her further for the kindness she showed me.
• The paramedics and firefighters who responded to the scene had been at the Smith's I had gone to not 15 minutes before the accident occurred. The two paramedics who came to see if I was okay remarked that they had just seen me at the store. They were sweet and brought some added smiles and laughs that put me at ease. It may seem silly, but at that moment, they were familiar faces in sea of chaos that brought peace to my heart and let me know that my Heavenly Father was there.
• Rental Insurance!: My family has never had rental car coverage in case of an accident, but recently my mom purchased that for my brother and I. She remarked several times after the accident that it must have been inspiration from the Lord to get that coverage for us. She had no idea it would be necessary two months later for her daughter to have that coverage. I do not doubt this in the least.

Last but not least, as this was one of the biggest tender mercies of this whole thing: Today I went to a car agency to pick up a rental. The man at the counter asked me what happened in the accident. My mom and I started to briefly explain and we hadn't talked more than 10 seconds when the only other customer in the building looked at me quizzically and asked, "Did you get hit by a gold truck that flipped?"
    "Yes!" I said. "Did you see it? I have been wondering about and praying for that man." And I had. I had no idea what condition he was in when taken to the hospital, and knew I could only pray for him, He was in the Lord's care.
    "No," he replied, "But the man in that truck is my Landlord." I was absolutely dumbfounded, jaw dropped open wide, the whole works. Can you believe that?!?! I asked if his landlord was okay and he replied that he was limping and had a black eye but looked like he was going to be okay. I couldn't believe it.
I haven't felt much peace the last two days, and so today asked in great earnest that my Heavenly Father would send me a tender mercy to let me know that He was aware of the difficulty I am having dealing with this; that He hears and loves me. That right there was the tender mercy. That is NOT coincidence. There is no way it is coincidence! That that man would be there, in that same car rental agency at the exact same time as me, is remarkable. And only explainable by the grace of God. I think that man will tell his elderly landlord that the girl whose car he hit is praying for him, and doesn't bear any ill will against him for what happened. Who knows, maybe that'll be a tender mercy for him too.
I know God lives, I know He knows and loves me. He knows and loves YOU. His tender mercies are
everywhere, even in the trials and rough spots in our lives, not just in the good times. Please follow along as we continue with another 100 tender mercies :)