Sunday, January 13, 2008

Fishin' & the Lord's Tender Mercies


I probably should let you know right off the bat that the title to this post is very deceiving. The Lord's tender mercies has nothing to do with my entry about fishin'! I just am trying to get caught up on my entries and since I didn't get the fishing entry done yesterday, it's gets added to today's.

Yesterday was Saturday and a friend from work, Pamela, and I went fishin' at the Surprise lake. We had decided to do this about a month and a half ago when we were talking to some other co-workers and heard that they were going to be stocking the lake that week for a girl scout event on Saturday. We met at dark o'clock (6:30 a.m.) at the lake and it was only 35* outside. The sun wasn't quite up yet so it gave us a few minutes to bait our lines and get ready to throw them out once the sun started to rise. (By the way, isn't this picture fantastic? I LOVE taking pictures of sunrises and sunsets. This morning's sunrise was so beautiful. It's a gentle reminder to me of the greatness of God.) Within about 15 minutes or so, we were on our way. She tried the bait and let it sit method, I tried the cast and reel it in method. Unfortunately, nothing worked. We never got one bite the entire day. I thought I did a couple of times, but then decided that it was either my line getting caught on my wedding ring as I was reeling in or my lure dragging across a rock. Even though we didn't catch anything, it was still an enjoyable time with a new friend. I got to know more about her and her family and she, the same about me and mine.

By the time I left at 9:45 (she ended up having to leave earlier), I was frozen to death. Although it was now 54*, I actually felt like it was colder than when I first got there! I climbed in the truck and let it run with the heater going full boar. It was probably 90* inside the truck but it sure felt good. I headed for home, kissed C goodbye as he headed off to work, and then came in to work on my blog. I was shaking so badly from being cold that I changed into my PJs, put my sweatshirt on over them, and put on slippers to boot (which if you know anything about me, I HATE my feet to be warm but I was freezing so badly that I HAD to). I worked on my blog for about an hour and then started falling alseep in the chair at the desk (it's been a long week with little sleep). Finally, I moved to the sofa around 1 p.m., added a blanket to the mix and there I stayed until C got home around 6:45...exhausted, passed out, asleep. Man, did that ever feel good - and I was finally warm!

Now, for the Lord's tender mercies...today in church, our bishop's wife (and he) spoke. She talked about this topic and also about President Eyring's talk about gratitude (upon which I based the purpose of this whole blog thing). She mentioned how one of the Lord's tender mercies for her was being able to sit next to him on the stand today as she rarely gets to do so. I felt for her. Each week, I sit by myself because Clint has to work on Sundays. I cherish each and every time he gets to attend church with me. Our new schedule for this year does not afford him the opportunity to attend at all and it's difficult to have to go and always be there myself. Brother Burckhardt asked today where he was. That will make him feel good. He always asks if anyone says anything about him. (Oh - honey, he said to tell you there were 233 people there today.)

Anyhow, I thought a lot about how I've been posting on my blog now for a few months and what my original intent had been versus what it has become. I've kind of forgotten about the gratitude part of it versus just writing all about what happened in my day. So, this is one of my goals for this year - to not only use this blog as a journal, but also to again write about the tender mercies the Lord has provided that day for which I am grateful. If I don't write something in each entry about what I'm grateful for from that day, remind me!

Once again today, we sang Reverently and Meekly Now in Sacrament Meeting. I LOVE that hymn! I blogged about it a while back and it was just as poignant then as it was today. The Savior speaking to me/us about His sacrifice for us. The words are just so beautiful.

I think my most tender mercy today though, and the item for which I am grateful, is His ability to comfort my fears and calm my troubled heart. The pianist from Primary asked me at the last minute to play for him in Primary today. I don't know those songs. I don't play well because I don't get to just sit down and play every day. I don't sight read very well. I'm afraid of the little kids laughting at me if I make a mistake. Well, he still had not found anyone to play so I said I would try and give it my best shot. I said a little prayer in my heart that I would do okay and Heavenly Father would guide my hands as I played. I actually did pretty well, except for one song....we quickly skipped over that one! And, even though the kids did laugh at me, I just laughed with them and everything was okay.

1 comment:

Cindy said...

Looks like you are all caught up! We'll miss you this weekend. Have a good trip to Ohio.