You Are All My Tender Mercies
Several years ago I started keeping a "Tender Mercies" journal. I've written about the why I decided to keep a tender mercy journal in the past; if you'd like the full story, go check it out - "As Much As I'm Missing What Was, I'm Loving What Is." The condensed version of why I started keeping a tender mercy journal was because I had been going through a crazy insane time, was overwhelmed, struggling, stressed, and feeling completely inadequate in my life, and decided I needed to change my attitude, and that being grateful would help me do that. Isn't that funny that I learned that life lesson years ago, and yet my most recent blog post addresses the fact that I had to learn that AGAIN?? There, Readers. Proof of just how ridiculously imperfect I truly am. Thank goodness for an ever patient Heavenly Father who sees how much extra work He needs to put into me, and is always, ALWAYS willing to do it. Always willing to teach me the same lesson over and OVER again, because I am too thick headed to get it right the first time.
My tender mercy journal has been such a blessing to me these past several years. It has changed my perspective on life. It has allowed me to watch for the Lord's hand in my life, DAILY. It has allowed me to see how much God loves me, DAILY. That's a HUGE one. Let me write it again. It has allowed me to see HOW MUCH GOD LOVES ME, DAILY. It has humbled me. It has strengthened me. It has brought smiles to my face as I reread past years entries.
One of my favorite things it has done has been to remind me how BLESSED I am to have all of you in my life. You are all my tender mercies. You all, in some form or another have made it into my tender mercy journal. You have no IDEA the profound impact you've all had on my life, for good or bad. You have shaped me. You have made me who I am today. One of my favorite things to do late at night as I'm pulling out my tender mercies journal to write in my tender mercy from the day is to look back over the past years and see what happened on this day 1, 2, 3 years ago, and SMILE. Sometimes the tender mercy is something as silly as eating a rice crispy treat, or watching a really great basketball game. But, 9 times out of 10, my tender mercy for the day consists of something one of you did for me. I always get overwhelmed with gratitude as I reflect on the blessings you all are in my life, and I a lot of times end up sending a text, late at night, reminding you of how GOOD you are; of the wonderful impact you've made on my life, and how I wouldn't be where I am today without YOU.
The tender mercy journal I have been writing in since 2015 is almost full, and I have to start writing in a new journal soon, so I decided to share a bunch of tender mercies I've written over the past several years about YOU. I can't brag enough about you all; you're so much more amazing than you think you are. In my last blog post about tender mercies I shared a bunch from 2015, so go read that blog if you want to see those tender mercies; I'm going to start in 2016 for this blog.
January 24th, 2016
Tender Mercy: Nicole driving us to church today in the snow. So grateful for people who aren't afraid to drive in the snow.
June 12th, 2016
Tender Mercy: Shelley reminding me that I'm not too quirky and weird to date. I need to stop thinking that. I need to remember how great I am.
August 4th, 2016
Tender Mercy: Friends encouraging me to message *boys name redacted*. Thank you, Rachel, Molly, Abby, Katie, and Dan.
September 13th, 2016
Tender Mercy: Text from Lydia about Henry missing me.
October 28th, 2016
Tender Mercy: Having amazing friends. Sooo grateful for Jenni and Lyndsay. They have been there for me thru the thick and thin. Soo grateful.
November 5th, 2016
Tender Mercy: Getting to see Bishop and Sis. Keddington, and catch up with them at Nicole's wedding. Love them.
January 14th, 2017
Tender Mercy: Carpool with Heidi, Amelia, and Loreal. I love these girls. Sis. Poleman(Weight) reminding me of how good I am - that I have a sparkle.
January 31st, 2017
Tender Mercy: A sweet note from Sam. (*Side note - this is STILL one of my favorite tender mercies. Sam is such a great roomie!)
March 18th, 2017
Tender Mercy: Such a loving mother. <3 So grateful for her.
April 30th, 2017
Tender Mercy: Talking with Bishop and KNOWING I was making the right move, quitting the temple. I didn't need to talk to him, but it was ok to.
May 25th, 2017
Tender Mercy: Matt taking charge of the ward activity! So grateful for a great committee.
July 17th, 2017
Tender Mercy: Talking to Spencer about *boys name redacted* Am I patient enough to wait for such a great man?
September 8th, 2017
Tender Mercy: Exploring NYC with Kami and Cynthia! They are awesome! Bandstand was phenomenal!
November 27th, 2017
Tender Mercy: Brett able to get my car started. So grateful for my home teachers.
December 30th, 2017
Tender Mercy: Talking with Rachel - feeling so much love for her. I love my roomies. I need to be better about expressing that.
January 2nd, 2017
Tender Mercy: Megan stopping by to visit! I adore her!
January 28th, 2018
Tender Mercy: Picking up Royden at the car place and giving him a ride home. I'm grateful to be able to give rides, and that he and I have become such great friends!
February 2nd, 2018
Tender Mercy: Fun night hanging out with Dan, watching bball. A reminder of how much work I need to go through to get to a great friendship like Dan and I have.
February 5th, 2018
Tender Mercy: Getting heart-attacked by the ward! Just so much love.
April 6th, 2018
Tender Mercy: Getting to attend Austin and Nicole's sealing and realizing how unbelievably lucky I am to have such wonderful roommates.
June 21st, 2018
Tender Mercy: Madi, listening to me cry, again. #freakinhormones
August 14th, 2018
Tender Mercy: Lauren bringing me dinner. Seriously needed that.
Readers, these are just a tiny handful of the mentions you've made in my tender mercy journal; and, really, a lot of you are in there A LOT. Like, a ridiculous amount, almost. I might be obsessed with my amazing friends. With the amazing people who have been in my life for just a moment. In those few moments, you changed my life for the BETTER. You made my day a little brighter.
Most of my tender mercies are from other people - they are the acts of kindness you all show to me. They are the time you take to listen to me, to laugh with me, to look out for me. Readers..... I'm not sure if you understand how truly POWERFUL you are. You have the power to influence someone's life for good, and you have all influenced mine in such huge ways. I can't begin to say thank you enough. These are just a few, brief notes. I didn't even include the full tender mercies that I wrote out, because some of them are pretty personal. But, you left your mark in my life in such a powerful way.
If I didn't mention you here, just know you're most likely mentioned in my tender mercy journal. And many of you are mentioned WEEKLY. Many of you are constantly being those tender mercies; those moments in my day when I'm reminded that God loves me. That I'm not forgotten. That the sun will rise again. That bad days happen to the good and the bad. That we can smile after all the tears. You remind me that I'm GOOD ENOUGH. That I'm doing better than I think I am. You all do that for me.
I love giving compliments. I love reminding people of how GOOD they are. That's you, Reader. You're the greatest of the great, and you are doing SO GOOD. I'm blown away by your goodness. You are doing better than you think you are. Trust me. I see it. I write it down, daily. I am flooded with your goodness. It uplifts me. It gets me though the day. It helps remind me that the Lord has His hand in all things. Thank you for being His hands. Thank you for being my tender mercies.
My tender mercy journal has been such a blessing to me these past several years. It has changed my perspective on life. It has allowed me to watch for the Lord's hand in my life, DAILY. It has allowed me to see how much God loves me, DAILY. That's a HUGE one. Let me write it again. It has allowed me to see HOW MUCH GOD LOVES ME, DAILY. It has humbled me. It has strengthened me. It has brought smiles to my face as I reread past years entries.
One of my favorite things it has done has been to remind me how BLESSED I am to have all of you in my life. You are all my tender mercies. You all, in some form or another have made it into my tender mercy journal. You have no IDEA the profound impact you've all had on my life, for good or bad. You have shaped me. You have made me who I am today. One of my favorite things to do late at night as I'm pulling out my tender mercies journal to write in my tender mercy from the day is to look back over the past years and see what happened on this day 1, 2, 3 years ago, and SMILE. Sometimes the tender mercy is something as silly as eating a rice crispy treat, or watching a really great basketball game. But, 9 times out of 10, my tender mercy for the day consists of something one of you did for me. I always get overwhelmed with gratitude as I reflect on the blessings you all are in my life, and I a lot of times end up sending a text, late at night, reminding you of how GOOD you are; of the wonderful impact you've made on my life, and how I wouldn't be where I am today without YOU.
The tender mercy journal I have been writing in since 2015 is almost full, and I have to start writing in a new journal soon, so I decided to share a bunch of tender mercies I've written over the past several years about YOU. I can't brag enough about you all; you're so much more amazing than you think you are. In my last blog post about tender mercies I shared a bunch from 2015, so go read that blog if you want to see those tender mercies; I'm going to start in 2016 for this blog.
Tender Mercy: Nicole driving us to church today in the snow. So grateful for people who aren't afraid to drive in the snow.
June 12th, 2016
Tender Mercy: Shelley reminding me that I'm not too quirky and weird to date. I need to stop thinking that. I need to remember how great I am.
August 4th, 2016
Tender Mercy: Friends encouraging me to message *boys name redacted*. Thank you, Rachel, Molly, Abby, Katie, and Dan.
September 13th, 2016
Tender Mercy: Text from Lydia about Henry missing me.
October 28th, 2016
Tender Mercy: Having amazing friends. Sooo grateful for Jenni and Lyndsay. They have been there for me thru the thick and thin. Soo grateful.
November 5th, 2016
Tender Mercy: Getting to see Bishop and Sis. Keddington, and catch up with them at Nicole's wedding. Love them.
January 14th, 2017
Tender Mercy: Carpool with Heidi, Amelia, and Loreal. I love these girls. Sis. Poleman(Weight) reminding me of how good I am - that I have a sparkle.
January 31st, 2017
Tender Mercy: A sweet note from Sam. (*Side note - this is STILL one of my favorite tender mercies. Sam is such a great roomie!)
March 18th, 2017
Tender Mercy: Such a loving mother. <3 So grateful for her.
April 30th, 2017
Tender Mercy: Talking with Bishop and KNOWING I was making the right move, quitting the temple. I didn't need to talk to him, but it was ok to.
May 25th, 2017
Tender Mercy: Matt taking charge of the ward activity! So grateful for a great committee.
July 17th, 2017
Tender Mercy: Talking to Spencer about *boys name redacted* Am I patient enough to wait for such a great man?
September 8th, 2017
Tender Mercy: Exploring NYC with Kami and Cynthia! They are awesome! Bandstand was phenomenal!
November 27th, 2017
Tender Mercy: Brett able to get my car started. So grateful for my home teachers.
December 30th, 2017
Tender Mercy: Talking with Rachel - feeling so much love for her. I love my roomies. I need to be better about expressing that.
January 2nd, 2017
Tender Mercy: Megan stopping by to visit! I adore her!
January 28th, 2018
Tender Mercy: Picking up Royden at the car place and giving him a ride home. I'm grateful to be able to give rides, and that he and I have become such great friends!
February 2nd, 2018
Tender Mercy: Fun night hanging out with Dan, watching bball. A reminder of how much work I need to go through to get to a great friendship like Dan and I have.
February 5th, 2018
Tender Mercy: Getting heart-attacked by the ward! Just so much love.
April 6th, 2018
Tender Mercy: Getting to attend Austin and Nicole's sealing and realizing how unbelievably lucky I am to have such wonderful roommates.
June 21st, 2018
Tender Mercy: Madi, listening to me cry, again. #freakinhormones
August 14th, 2018
Tender Mercy: Lauren bringing me dinner. Seriously needed that.
Readers, these are just a tiny handful of the mentions you've made in my tender mercy journal; and, really, a lot of you are in there A LOT. Like, a ridiculous amount, almost. I might be obsessed with my amazing friends. With the amazing people who have been in my life for just a moment. In those few moments, you changed my life for the BETTER. You made my day a little brighter.
Most of my tender mercies are from other people - they are the acts of kindness you all show to me. They are the time you take to listen to me, to laugh with me, to look out for me. Readers..... I'm not sure if you understand how truly POWERFUL you are. You have the power to influence someone's life for good, and you have all influenced mine in such huge ways. I can't begin to say thank you enough. These are just a few, brief notes. I didn't even include the full tender mercies that I wrote out, because some of them are pretty personal. But, you left your mark in my life in such a powerful way.
If I didn't mention you here, just know you're most likely mentioned in my tender mercy journal. And many of you are mentioned WEEKLY. Many of you are constantly being those tender mercies; those moments in my day when I'm reminded that God loves me. That I'm not forgotten. That the sun will rise again. That bad days happen to the good and the bad. That we can smile after all the tears. You remind me that I'm GOOD ENOUGH. That I'm doing better than I think I am. You all do that for me.
I love giving compliments. I love reminding people of how GOOD they are. That's you, Reader. You're the greatest of the great, and you are doing SO GOOD. I'm blown away by your goodness. You are doing better than you think you are. Trust me. I see it. I write it down, daily. I am flooded with your goodness. It uplifts me. It gets me though the day. It helps remind me that the Lord has His hand in all things. Thank you for being His hands. Thank you for being my tender mercies.
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