In April 2005 Elder David A Bednar, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, gave a talk entitled, "The Tender Mercies of the Lord." In his talk, he spoke of the small and silent miracles God does for us to swell our hearts with thanksgiving and humility as we recognise that He really is there, and He really does know who we are.
Today I've witnessed several such tender mercies and wanted to share them.
This morning while visiting some church members from our congregation they mentioned that their son and daughter-in-law were having some major complications with only a couple of weeks to go until their 3rd child is born. The labour has been starting and stopping, and stress has been mounting. I mentioned my mothers' expertise in that area and suggested they might benefit from talking to her. When my friend called her daughter-in-law to make the recommendation that my mum be called for advice, she humbly stated that she and her husband had literally just climbed from their knees. They had been praying to the Lord that he would help them know who they should talk to for advice as the hospital had not been helpful. I believe God heard their prayer. They spoke with mum and received comfort, direction and support.
The second tender mercy occurred after our church meetings today. I was talking with my friend Shaun. As we spoke a 19 year-old, David, approached to tell Shaun that he had just received word that he will be serving a two year mission to the countries surrounding the Baltic Sea, including Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. He will be speaking Russian! This was amazing news, as obviously very few Australians are called to serve in such a place. More amazing though, was this. A family friend from the NSW Central Coast (1 000 kms away) was visiting family in Brisbane and came to our church meeting. He served as the President of the Baltic Mission only 18 months ago, and as David told us the news this man was only 10 metres to my left.
If my son was going to Lithuania to speak Russian I'd want to know more about it. I took David straight over to this man and introduced them. He was so excited to hear David was going he nearly hugged him. Then he took 20 minutes and spoke with David and his family about the experiences they could expect with a son in those countries for two years. Tender mercies.
Finally, today at church a member of the Australia Area Presidency, Elder Dirk Smibert, approached me and asked if I had 5 minutes. I was given a new responsibility at church. It could not have come at a better time. I have been struggling with my present responsibility, particularly with all of the time it takes and the number of people I'm responsible for working with. Additionally, Kylie has not been well lately and my workload is increasing with Honours year at uni. So the stress has been getting to me. To know, therefore, that my responsibilities are changing was wonderful news, and the timing could not have been better. Again, the Lord is clearly orchestrating things, trying faith and patience, but always ensuring His children are looked after.
My new calling, by the way, is to serve as a member of the multi-stake public affairs committee. I'm not sure exactly what that means, but from what I do know, I'll be working as part of a team who deal with politicians and the media in promoting the good that the church does, and minimising or explaining negative publicity. My role, I believe, encompasses the whole of South East QLD. When I know more I'll post it. It's very new to me and I have no experience serving in this capacity, so I'm looking forward to the experience and challenge. And I've been assured that it won't be anywhere near as time consuming as my previous calling! Tender mercies.
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