Tender Mercies: He Knows Us

     A couple of weeks ago my dad's side of the family gathered together to bid farewell to my cousin as he prepared to leave for Ukraine for his mission. We were asked to share with him our most treasured thoughts/lessons learned from our missions to help him in his endeavors. At first. it was tough for me to decide what to share with him, but after thinking about it, it was more obvious than I thought: God knows who I am! He is ever so aware of every little thing in my life. The ups and downs. The little things that scare me, that others may scoff at. Even the things that I don't pray for or about. It was a powerful lesson that I now realize God has been trying to teach me for many years. It came to a head through a very special experience on my mission.
     The story actually starts long before my mission. Its no surprise to many that I struggled a lot with my health growing up. I was a very very very picky eater, which resulted in my being very underweight most of my life. Keeping that in mind, you can imagine the struggle I had deciding to go on a mission. Now, don't get me wrong, more than anything I wanted to serve a mission. Nothing would ever stop me from going... except perhaps my health. I didn't think I would be allowed to go. As I filled out my papers, that was the greatest fear on my mind. The hardest thing was going to the doctor, knowing that I probably would be too small to go. But then a miracle happened, I was approved! Tender Mercy #1. But even with the approval another thing weighed on my mind: what kind of food would I be expected to eat where I went? When I opened my call, Hawaii Honolulu Mission, I was overcome with joy, but the fear quickly set in concerning the food. Fish. Yuck. Taro. Yuck. Poi. Yuck. To add onto it, Polynesians take great pride in feeding the missionaries. I knew they wouldn't ever respect me if I didn't eat what was offered. Again I was scared, and deeply contemplated not going.
      Luckily, I did not give up and endured the fear for 3 months. The morning that I was set apart as a missionary my dad gave me a blessing, as he did us all when we would leave on our missions, and in the blessing he promised me that no matter what was put in front of me, if I trusted the Lord and ate it, I would be able to eat it and wouldn't get sick. Tears filled my eyes because I hadn't even really prayed and told God about it, yet here he answered that unheard prayer. I left for the mission. My first night in Hawaii I had fish. There it was in front of me. I remembered the blessing, said a prayer in my heart, closed my eyes, and took a bite. I loved it! Oh how God knew me! I never got sick because of the food I ate. I learned to love so much and my health improved. Somehow I was able to work to exhaustion day after day. And when I was transferred to a bike area, I was strengthened. I came home exhausted, but with a powerful lesson learned. God knew who I was! My heart was full. I did it. Because of God, I did it. People ask me why I still talk about Hawaii so much, asserting that I need to let it go and "come home." But they have no idea what God did for me out there. For the first time in my whole life, I felt like I was known by God. The people there accepted me for who I was, even when at times I was learning to like the food. It is a constant reminder of my most precious lesson in life. That is why I still talk about and jump for joy when I see those Polynesians I love so much. Later on I found out that my experience/story helped to literally save the life of a cancer patient who was scared to eat while doing therapy by inspiring her to trust God! God is amazing!
     Today I was reminded again of that lesson. This morning I was privileged to attend the farewell of someone I consider to be one of my most precious friends. I hadn't talked to her for a very long time. But when I was able to talk to her after her talk, I was almost brought to tears as she recounted to me what was happening in my life and asked how I was doing. She still cared about me as a close friend. You are probably wondering why I sound so surprised, well lets just say that because of my huge crush on her in high school, we had a complicated "history." But even during that time of our lives she helped me through what I consider to be one of the greatest trials of my life. And she stuck with me through it all, when no one else did. That is why she is such a precious friend to me. Today I realized how blessed I was for God bringing her into my life. And now as she goes her separate way I thank God for her. He knew me back then, and still knows me now by keeping my close friends with me. Since being home I have met a couple of other friends whose presence in my life has changed me for the better. Many are going their own ways so we don't see each other too often, but they have still changed my life.
     Whether it is sending friends to us in times of need, or answering the unsaid prayers. God is always there. His tender mercies fill our lives to remind us that He knows us and cares. I would invite you to take time and ponder His tender mercies in your life. If you are wondering if He loves you or want to know if He knows your deepest fears, I promise you can find the tender mercies that teach you that He is there. I testify of His love. He cares, always!