24 Days of Thanksgiving - Day Sixteen

I'm grateful for God's tender mercies.

When I first heard the phrase "tender mercies," I didn't really understand what it meant. It seemed like a vague concept to me. On the whole, it sounded nice, but pinning down a specific example was difficult.

Over the years, though - especially as a mother - I've come to understand the phrase. I've seen countless examples in my life. And I've learned to truly appreciate what a gift they are.

For those of you who, like me, may not fully understand what tender mercies are, I'll try to explain.

Life is beautiful, but it isn't fair, and it isn't perfect. We're here on this earth to be tested, and most of those tests come in the form of trials and suffering. God allows us to suffer, and to feel pain, so that we can learn from it. Through our trials, we have the opportunity to grow. The test is whether or not we choose to embrace those opportunities.

God isn't impervious to our pain, however. He recognizes how we're feeling, and grieves at our suffering. He doesn't put us through hard times because it's fun for Him. He does it to teach us and help us grow. And because He's a loving, caring Father, He blesses us with little comforts in the midst of our struggles. Just when things are darkest, we frequently can discover a little ray of sunshine that lifts us up and gives us strength.

Those little rays of sunshine are tender mercies.

Here's an example. Last night, Evie wasn't feeling well, so she put herself to bed early. Before she'd been there more than an hour, though, she got sick. Her hair, nightgown, and bedding were all covered. We cleaned up the bed, gave her a bath, and put her back to sleep with a big red bowl by her side.

She proceeded to be sick every hour or two through the night. My poor little girl couldn't even keep water down. And because Ben had work the next day, I was the one who had to get up with her every time. I would rinse out the bowl, comfort her, and put her back to bed.

Needless to say, it was a long night.

This morning didn't start off a whole lot better. She continued to be sick at regular intervals. Friends on Facebook warned me about the bug going around, and how some of the afflicted had been sick for two full days before it passed. I found myself worrying about what would happen if all three of us were sick at the same time. With all of us out of commission, who would take care of our family?

I ran to the store for gatorade, pedialyte, jello, saltines, soup, juice, etc. I came home to find my little girl cheerfully watching TV on the couch. She had thrown up around 9 AM, then... felt better.

At the moment, it's after 5 PM, and she still hasn't been sick again.

In spite of the warnings that the bug would probably last two days, she was sick for only about 12 hours. The night had still been long, there had been lots of unpleasant cleaning I'd had to do, and my little girl was definitely miserable. But the illness hadn't held on to her as long as it could have. She still has a fever, but she's not throwing up anymore. If I become sick now, that's one less person who will need my constant attention.

And that, my friends, is a tender mercy.

Sometimes people miss the tender mercies in their own situations. It's understandable. As a species, I think humans tend to be more keenly aware of the negative than the positive. That's probably why the news is full of tragedy and horror. Very rarely do they print articles about good things. And I know that parents (myself included) tend to be very vocal to their children when those kids are misbehaving, but often forget to let those same children know when they're doing something wonderful.

With such a strong tendency to hone in on the negative, it's very easy to miss the positives. But they're always there. All you have to do is look for them.

What are some of the tender mercies you've noticed in your own life? I'd love to hear about them!