I will give, and to him that receiveth I will give more

by Emily Freeman

It is hard for me, this watching for daily mercies.  I get caught up in the day to day.  Life moves so fast.  Watching for tender moments requires me to slow down, to be still, to focus on the essential.

I am learning the importance of watching.

As I was reading today I stumbled on a scripture I have read hundreds of times, but this time it took on a new meaning, “I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are they who hearken…for unto him that receiveth I will give more…” 2 Nephi 28:30

Sometimes I think that is the way tender mercies are….here a little, and there a little.  In fact, if we aren’t focused on watching for them we might think they are just a coincidence.  But when we focus our heart on watching for tender mercies from the Lord, and more importantly, receiving them,  it seems they become more frequent occurrences.

I love the promise in that verse…I will give, and to him that receiveth I will give more.

Have you noticed a correlation between heartfelt prayer and your ability to recognize the tender mercies?

Have you noticed that the Lord really does care about the little things?

Have you noticed that a little prayer here can lead to a tender mercy there?

I am not sure how it works, but I know that it does.

I won’t ever forget a tender mercy that happened years ago.  I was on my way to my best friend’s wedding.  Several events beyond my control had escalated into what seemed like a dire situation…I was late.  Really late.  Late enough that I might miss the wedding.  As i drove into downtown Salt Lake City I said a silent prayer, “Please let there be a parking spot open on the street in front of the temple.”  You can’t pray for that… a pessimistic voice inside my head responded….Heavenly Father doesn’t do parking.

But without His help I would miss the wedding.  So I whispered the prayer again.

I won’t forget turning onto the street where the temple is.  How I was the first car in line at the red light on the block before the temple.  How, just as the light turned green, a car pulled out of the first parking spot next to the door of the entrance of the temple.  And how I slipped right into that spot, walked through the doors of the temple, and sat down in a sealing room just as the wedding began.

When I walked back to my car that day I realized that the Lord answers little prayers.

He is tender like that.

His is the policy of giving more to those who are willing to receive it.

Even when least expected.