Tender Mercies

I decided about a month ago that I would try harder to see the tender mercies of the Lord in my life. And what a difference it has made.

I new that the registration on my car was about to expire. I was stressing out because I had just moved into my new apartment, my job at Gap wasn't quite lined up, school was supposed to start soon, and I needed to get a new windshield. I was in a crunch. I got to the point that I had decided that I would go ahead and wait a few weeks and drive around with expired plates and hope that no one would notice. On the 29th, I was getting something out of my trunk and realized that they expired at the end of SEPTEMBER and not AUGUST. (9 means September... duh). Tender mercy.

I was hoping that the crack in my windshield was close enough to pass the safety test so I went ahead and took my car to Jiffy Lube. Turns out that their safety portion was down for the day, but was able to do the emissions part and gave me a coupon for $10 off the safety. The guy did tell me that I would need to replace my windshield and gave me another coupon for $20 off a new windshield (I love coupons!). Tender mercy.

So a few weeks later, with my new windshield, safety and emissions passed, I went to go resister my car. Went to the tax commission, got my number, and waited. My time came I went to the counter. The paperwork was done, the plates where in hand, all I needed to do was pay. The lady turns to me and says, "Alright, $479.62. Credit or debit?" "Are you kidding me?" "No." It was one of those moments when you swipe your card and hope there's enough in there. I drive home and open my Quicken. Turns out that there was enough! I got paid a few days later and was able to cover my expenses for the next few weeks. Tender mercy.

Earlier this week I got to the point where it came to either putting gas in my tank or paying tithing. Gas in my car would allow me to drive to work. And it would be only a portion of my tithing. I went ahead and wrote the tithing check. The next night I was driving home and passed Beat the Bookstore. I realized that I had an account there for a textbook that I turned in about a month ago and that I could now cash that out. The $30 was enough to cover my gas. Tender mercy.

Last week we were able to go to the courthouse and witness an adoption. Steve's sister remarried this past February and her new husband was adopting her two little girls. (Of course I sobbed through the entire thing.) Tender mercy.

I talked to my mom last week and she shared a story about how she and Lisa were looking for Lisa's lost contact in the field at the Junior High. They were able to find it after a little prayer. Tender mercy.

It has been marvelous how my eyes have been opened (if only to the squink stage) but I have been so grateful for the tender mercies in my life and in the lives of those around us.