Tender Mercies

As I sat down to write this blog post, this phrase, "tender mercies" kept coming to my mind. I couldn't figure out why or even if I was really sure what it meant. So I googled it and one of the suggestions that came up was this talk entitled The Tender Mercies of the Lord given by Elder David Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. I clicked on the link and almost immediately this sentence leapt off the screen at me, "the Lord's tender mercies are the very personal and individualized blessings, strength, protection, assurances, guidance, loving-kindnesses, consolation, support, and spiritual gifts which we receive from and because of and through the Lord Jesus Christ." Upon reading that sentence, and the rest of the talk, I realized that today I received a tender mercy from the Lord.

As previously posted, we planned to meet Luke's birthmom "J" today and I was so unbelievably nervous. I felt almost silly for being nervous but I couldn't seem to shake my feelings of trepidation. I just wanted so badly for J and her parents to see Luke and know that he was cared for. I wanted them to see how MUCH he means to us. I wanted them to feel of the love we have for him. And most of all, I wanted J to see, and to know, that she made a good choice in placing him with us and giving us such a tremendous opportunity to raise him as our son. I just didn't know if I could realistically expect to receive so much validation from such a short visit.

We arrived at the park, our mutually agreed upon meeting place, just a few minutes late. We pulled in, parked, and then almost immediately saw J and her parents. I was so relieved that this meeting was finally gonna happen and yet overcome with nerves at what might await. Some of those nerves almost instantly abated when J started heading towards us as we approached the playground. I had been concerned that she might be too shy to have much interaction but that was not to be the case. She had a big smile on her face for us and Luke and we exchanged hugs and hellos. We then walked over to meet up with her parents, whom Luke promptly called grandpa and gramdma as he does to everyone past a certain age, and to be introduced to her 2 young nephews that were also there. The next hour then commenced in visiting and talking as if we were old friends or family members. Luke played and laughed and had everyone enthralled with a smile of their faces. J chased him, swung, and played peek-a-boo with him and he rewarded her with smiles and giggles. I was so pleased and happy. J's parents and Jake and I mainly talked and got better acquainted. During one conversation with J's mom, she told me how much it meant to J to see Luke and how grateful they were to us to have this opportunity to see that he was loved and cared for and that they made the right choice. She then went on to say that J couldn't have provided Luke with the life we have been able to give him and how wonderful it is to see him doing so well. My prayers were answered in her words of affirmation that I had been seeking. "..knew in that very moment I was experiencing just such a tender mercy. A loving Savior was sending me a most personal and timely message of comfort and reassurance..." My nervousness fully departed and I was able to enjoy the remainder of the time we spent with them. We parted with Luke giving J and both her parents hugs and saying, "Bye-bye. Wuv you!" We mentioned possibly meeting in December and exchanging Christmas gifts. I am already looking forward to it.