Tender Mercies

Three years ago we felt prompted to move, and as time went on those feelings got stronger and stronger. Six months ago we headed off on this new adventure, away from our family, friends, and house of 12 years to a completely unfamiliar place multiple states away.

Then two months in, the world went crazy. I could have NEVER predicted the year like this! Just what the kids needed after we ripped them out of their comfort zone, right... Needless to say, it’s been hard for the kids to make friends, and my heart has hurt for them, and many tears have been shed by them and by me, and while they have been so resilient in many ways, sometimes I wonder what we have done!

And yet... in my heart I know we are supposed to be here, and have felt God’s reassurance, love, and tender mercies throughout all of this!

For one, our family is closer than ever. Watching my kids be each other’s best friends is a beautiful thing, even if it is by default.

But friends are important. And there have been two particular incidents where I’d been praying and pleading with the Lord, worried about kids who were struggling, and in each case, the very next day, the very next MORNING, someone reached out inviting those children to play. It brought me to tears and felt like a miracle, honestly, like my Father in Heaven was saying I AM AWARE OF YOU. IT IS GOING TO BE OKAY.

I’m amazed at the many people I’ve met here who I feel like I’ve known my whole life. I remember commenting to my husband at church, “I feel like I’ve seen these people before.” There is a familiarity, this sense that we were meant to cross paths with these people. These good, good people!!!

I met one of these good people a few weeks ago at a park. She approached me cause she glimpsed my husband’s BYU hat. :) Fast forward to today, where our kids met each other and hiked, picnicked, played in the river, and chatted for 4 hours! And again, I am amazed because I feel like our meeting was not by accident. Along with other similarities, she has six kids as well, and FIVE of her kids are exactly five of my kids’ ages.

“The Lord’s tender mercies do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence.” -Elder Bednar

God is good. ❤️