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I had an experience yesterday that caused me to stop and reflect on the events of the past couple of months. Before sharing that I’d like to preface it with an explanation of the phrase that came to mind after my experience yesterday.
In the April 2005 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elder David Bednar gave a talk entitled, “he Tender Mercies of the Lord.” He spoke of an experience he’d had the previous October where he realized that the Lord was aware of him and his concerns at that present moment and he said the following:
“Near the conclusion of the singing, to my mind came this verse from the Book of Mormon: “But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance” (1 Nephi 1:20).
My mind was drawn immediately to Nephi’s phrase “the tender mercies of the Lord,” and I knew in that very moment I was experiencing just such a tender mercy. A loving Savior was sending me a most personal and timely message of comfort and reassurance through a hymn selected weeks previously. Some may count this experience as simply a nice coincidence, but I testify that the tender mercies of the Lord are real and that they do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence. Often, the Lord’s timing of His tender mercies helps us to both discern and acknowledge them.”
He went on to say, “Since last October I have reflected repeatedly upon the phrase “the tender mercies of the Lord.” Through personal study, observation, pondering, and prayer, I believe I have come to better understand that 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).
Yesterday I experienced one of those “Tender Mercies”. Actually as I began reflecting over the last couple of months or so I realized January and February have been full of tender mercies.
Yesterday I went to pick up Dee from school. At her school some of the kids are picked up in the back and some in the front. I pick Kayryn up in the back. The driveway behind the school consists of basically two “lanes”. The lane closest to the school is for pulling as far forward as you can and then wait for your child(ren) to come out then pull out into the second lane and go on out so others can pull forward.
With all the snow we’ve had over the last couple of months – it just keeps hanging around- that second lane has gotten pretty narrow and the wheels on the driver’s side of the vehicle are riding on snow that has been packed into a slippery solid mass.
After Dee got in the car I pulled carefully out into the second lane and began to leave. Just as I was almost to the end of the “driveway” I came up beside a very large (it sat quite high) van. Just as I got nose to nose with it a petite little first grade girl darted out from between it and the car in front of it right into my path. I wasn’t going very fast but I basically had no reaction time. I didn’t see her and she didn’t see me until she darted out.
I drew in a sharp breath – there was no air in my lungs to scream at that moment – and slammed on my brakes. I wasn’t completely on the snow pack but I still slid what felt like a couple of feet but was probably only a few inches. I slammed on the brakes, gripped my steering wheel in a death grip -there was nowhere for me to go, I had a huge van on one side of me and a large snow bank on the other – and waited for the sickening thud of my van hitting that little girl.
The thud never came. When I began to breathe again and time started to move once more, I realized that I had come to a stop, I could see the top of the little girl's head. She had to be standing with her nose just about touching the van just over the front wheel well. She turned and ran as fast as she could back onto the sidewalk. When she turned to look at me - oh you should have seen the look on her face, it was pure fear- she made this little pitiful gesture like she was waving me on, conceding the ride of way to me.
I don’t believe the driver in the van next to me was even aware of what happened. I don’t know if she was sitting too high up in her van or had not been looking our way. I rolled down the passenger side window and you could tell the little girl thought I was going to yell at her. I simply asked, “Are you ok?!” She answered in the most pitiful voice, “Yes,”
So I took a deep breath rolled up the window and tried to calm my pounding heart and drove out of the school parking lot. If I’d hit that little girl even though I wasn’t going very fast at all, as little as she was it would have sent her flying and I believe it would have hurt her pretty bad.
Dee hadn’t even seen the little girl until we stopped. She was in the front passenger seat and was looking at me when the little girl darted out. Afterwards she said, “Mom you should have seen the look on your face!!!” I asked her if it was as terrified as the look on the little girl’s face when she was standing on the sidewalk afterwards. She said, “Yes!”
In the April 2005 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elder David Bednar gave a talk entitled, “he Tender Mercies of the Lord.” He spoke of an experience he’d had the previous October where he realized that the Lord was aware of him and his concerns at that present moment and he said the following:
“Near the conclusion of the singing, to my mind came this verse from the Book of Mormon: “But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance” (1 Nephi 1:20).
My mind was drawn immediately to Nephi’s phrase “the tender mercies of the Lord,” and I knew in that very moment I was experiencing just such a tender mercy. A loving Savior was sending me a most personal and timely message of comfort and reassurance through a hymn selected weeks previously. Some may count this experience as simply a nice coincidence, but I testify that the tender mercies of the Lord are real and that they do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence. Often, the Lord’s timing of His tender mercies helps us to both discern and acknowledge them.”
He went on to say, “Since last October I have reflected repeatedly upon the phrase “the tender mercies of the Lord.” Through personal study, observation, pondering, and prayer, I believe I have come to better understand that 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).
Yesterday I experienced one of those “Tender Mercies”. Actually as I began reflecting over the last couple of months or so I realized January and February have been full of tender mercies.
Yesterday I went to pick up Dee from school. At her school some of the kids are picked up in the back and some in the front. I pick Kayryn up in the back. The driveway behind the school consists of basically two “lanes”. The lane closest to the school is for pulling as far forward as you can and then wait for your child(ren) to come out then pull out into the second lane and go on out so others can pull forward.
With all the snow we’ve had over the last couple of months – it just keeps hanging around- that second lane has gotten pretty narrow and the wheels on the driver’s side of the vehicle are riding on snow that has been packed into a slippery solid mass.
After Dee got in the car I pulled carefully out into the second lane and began to leave. Just as I was almost to the end of the “driveway” I came up beside a very large (it sat quite high) van. Just as I got nose to nose with it a petite little first grade girl darted out from between it and the car in front of it right into my path. I wasn’t going very fast but I basically had no reaction time. I didn’t see her and she didn’t see me until she darted out.
I drew in a sharp breath – there was no air in my lungs to scream at that moment – and slammed on my brakes. I wasn’t completely on the snow pack but I still slid what felt like a couple of feet but was probably only a few inches. I slammed on the brakes, gripped my steering wheel in a death grip -there was nowhere for me to go, I had a huge van on one side of me and a large snow bank on the other – and waited for the sickening thud of my van hitting that little girl.
The thud never came. When I began to breathe again and time started to move once more, I realized that I had come to a stop, I could see the top of the little girl's head. She had to be standing with her nose just about touching the van just over the front wheel well. She turned and ran as fast as she could back onto the sidewalk. When she turned to look at me - oh you should have seen the look on her face, it was pure fear- she made this little pitiful gesture like she was waving me on, conceding the ride of way to me.
I don’t believe the driver in the van next to me was even aware of what happened. I don’t know if she was sitting too high up in her van or had not been looking our way. I rolled down the passenger side window and you could tell the little girl thought I was going to yell at her. I simply asked, “Are you ok?!” She answered in the most pitiful voice, “Yes,”
So I took a deep breath rolled up the window and tried to calm my pounding heart and drove out of the school parking lot. If I’d hit that little girl even though I wasn’t going very fast at all, as little as she was it would have sent her flying and I believe it would have hurt her pretty bad.
Dee hadn’t even seen the little girl until we stopped. She was in the front passenger seat and was looking at me when the little girl darted out. Afterwards she said, “Mom you should have seen the look on your face!!!” I asked her if it was as terrified as the look on the little girl’s face when she was standing on the sidewalk afterwards. She said, “Yes!”
I told Dee I didn’t know how in the world I hadn’t hit that little girl. Then I realized yeah I do. There was divine intervention there. That little girl and we had just experienced a tender mercy of the Lord, for which I am so grateful!
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