Tender Mercies

Lexi and I had a bit of trauma today at church. I gave her a peanut butter sandwich cracker to chew on during Sacrament Meeting. Immediately after she ate the cracker some little welts showed up on her mouth and hand. I took her out and after a few minutes the welts started to go away, but she began to get abnormally fussy. I could tell something wasn't right, but wasn't sure what to do. I walked her through the halls a bit and she seemed to calm down some.

Just as Sacrament was about to let out, she threw up all over her, me and the carpet. And we were standing directly in front of one of the doors to the chapel. I was immediately a wreck. I grabbed all the wipes I had and started cleaning up her and the carpet. Meanwhile, my skirt was drenched and dripping all over the place. When Sacrament Meeting was over I opened the door and yelled for Jeff to come help me. It all seems a blur now.

Well, these things happen all the time, don't they? We've all had these moments of panic. It's in these moments that I believe the tender mercies of the Lord are most noticeable.

As soon as Lexi started throwing up, two people ran to get paper towels to help me. They could see my obvious panic and need for help. To them it was instinctive to run and help.

Then, as I sat down on the sofa to console Lexi, Jeff began cleaning up the huge mess we had left. Almost immediately, a friend of his was right there to help him.

Two seconds later, sweet Tiffany Beath, said without hesitation, "Jackie, do you want me to take your primary class for you?" Whew! One less worry as I knew I had to get us home.

Then the tears started welling up in my eyes and I knew that this was going to be a cry that I could not stop. I felt so bad for Lexi. I felt so bad for giving her those crackers without even thinking. I felt so bad that we had made such a mess of things at church and people were having to help clean up after us. Just then, the sweetest lady who had brought me some paper towels earlier sat down next to me and gave me a hug. I had never met her before. She just knew that at that moment I needed some consoling. I really needed that hug right then. I really needed all the help that I was given.

What happened wasn't the end of the world or even a big deal. But it's in these moments that we are reminded of the goodness of others and the love that the Lord has for us.

I'm thankful for those who helped us today. I'm thankful to know that God loves me and has people around me to help in my times of need, whether big or small.

I'm thankful for tender mercies.

To read more about tender mercies, click Here.