The Lord’s Tender Mercies

By Heather Walgren
I’ve always known that God loves me and that he hears and answers my prayers. One of the most memorable examples of this, in my life was when I was just barely seventeen. I had just moved to a new state so that I could go to college instead of high school. I didn’t know very many people my age because most of my peers were juniors in high school. I was missing my old friends and had little opportunity to meet new ones my age and I kind of wanted a date so I prayed for a date. I was attending early morning seminary at the time and two brothers who were cheerleaders at the high school were giving me a ride to seminary. Well, I asked for a date in my prayers one night and one of the brothers asked me out on a date at 5:30 am the very next morning! I accepted with a smile in my heart. When he picked me up for our date, he came with roses. We had a wonderful evening and I knew that God loved me.

God has perfect timing. He knows exactly what we need and when we need it. I was pleasantly reminded of this once again last Friday. Since I graduated from college last August I have been rather busy and have had precious little time for myself. Still, I feel like I have been blessed, tremendously. I started working for my company at the beginning of October. For almost three months now I have been blessed with a job I love. I work for a company I love, which is funded by an amazing man. He made his fortune inventing medical devices all of us have benefited from (like disposable surgical masks, machines that recycle blood during surgeries and machines that give a real time image of a patient’s heart). The whole concept behind the company I work for is showing people how closely connected they are to each other through genetics and genealogy in the hope that they will care about each other. In short, it is the perfect place for me.

I did not realize I was in need of an amazing day, but that is what I was blessed with. Friday was my company’s Christmas party. Because it was held during business hours all employees, who attended, were paid to attend. Because I wanted to attend I had to come into work late, so I wouldn’t go over on my hours. Consequently, I got to sleep in until 6:30 am, which was exciting for me. When I arrived at work people started exchanging gifts, which was rather fun. After two hours of work it was time for the party!

Now, all I knew about the party was we were doing a white elephant gift exchange, there would be food, and the company usually gave out a $50 gift certificate to the Gateway plus a small gift for everyone. I had heard a rumor that one of my coworkers knew a family that was in desperate need this year, so the general impression was we were going to give up the little gift and apply the money to this family. All in all, I was rather excited about it.

The food was great. The white elephant gift exchange was so much fun, but then it came time for the gifts from the company. We were given a lot more than was expected. Beyond that, we were also given very generous Christmas bonuses. Now, the money and gifts were nice, but what was even better was the knowledge that everyone walking out of that Christmas party knew they were valued and appreciated. Everyone knew there were a lot of people out there who cared about them.

But my great day did not end there! As I was walking to Trax, a 20 minute walk, I knew there was a good chance I would miss the train by a matter of seconds. Sure enough, as I was standing in line to buy my ticket the train pulled up. As I realized I was okay about missing the train a teenage boy, who had just exited the train, came up to me and asked if I needed a ticket. It was such a small little act of kindness. It wasn’t something huge, but it was a wonderful gift to me (don’t worry, I bought a ticket at the end of the line). As I approached the train the door closed, but a passenger pushed the button from the inside and the door opened and I caught the train.

By the time I reached Sandy, my heart was so full of joy at the tender mercies of the Lord. I felt like I would burst if I didn’t share my joy with someone else. So, I said a little prayer and asked to know who could use a little act of kindness in their life. One woman, who was standing on the platform just seemed to stick out to me. My bag was so full of gifts I couldn’t zip it shut. I pulled out the top present, walked up to this lady, and told her I had just experienced a wonderful day and wanted to share it with her. As I handed her a gift she looked surprised and asked why I was giving her a present. I just repeated that I had had a wonderful day and wanted to share a piece of it with her. As I walked away, I was overwhelmed by the joy that came with giving.

When my mother picked me up at the end of Trax, I found out that she too had experienced a wonderful day. Every other Sunday she volunteers at a facility for handicap children. Their wheelchair blankets are worn and in need of replacing. My mother’s company provided her with enough money to make each of the twenty-eight children a new blanket.

So often, the Lord blesses us through those around us. It is one of His tender mercies. The previous Sunday, while attending tithing settlement, I asked my Bishop about the needs of my church in regards to fast offerings for the poor. He indicated that there was a need and so I said, “Well I can give more.” I pulled out my check book and wrote out an additional check. When we have the opportunity to be God’s agent in giving, we are given a glimpse of what charity – the pure love of God – feels like. I know that in the Holy Bible, in Malachi 3:10 the Lord promises us, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you our a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” I have walked with angels my entire life and have always been very aware of just how blessed I have been, but I just didn’t expect such an immediate blessing to be poured out on my head at this time.

I want to thank all those who made my day so special. For all of you who have helped make someone else’s day special I want to thank you, as well. For everyone who has not been presented with an opportunity to bless the life of someone else I ask you to create an opportunity. At the heart of this season lie the tender mercies of the Lord.