Life's Tender Mercies

So I've realized that there's more to life then dwelling on the bad things or things that go wrong in our lives.  Ever since I was born, I've had several abnormalities about myself that most people don't have.  Most of them are just silly little things that make me me, but at the same time, they can get frustrating sometimes if I dwell on them.

 I was born on July 22, 2 1/2 months early.  Due to that, i didn't have enough enamel develop on my teeth, so I've probably had 40 cavities so far in my life.  I still have like 80 years left of my lifetime. haha...could be up to 100 cavities by then!  I've had 3 root canals, mouth surgery, and had braces for 4 years.  My eyesight has also been a joke for the past 19 years of my life.  The eye doctor says that every time I go in for an appointment, my eyes change at least 2 powers.  That's... A LOT!  The big "E" they put on the wall at eye appointments, yeah I can't see that! Kind of funny.  I got my gallbladder out in 2010 and it was functioning 10% out of 100%.  Ever since then I get horrid stomach aches, and had a colonoscopy to find out what was wrong.  No results were found.  I also have allergic reactions to a lot of things.  I'm allergic to all animal hair, grass, dirt, cotton, hay, bees, and more.

 All of these things are just little rocks in the road, and I've learned not to dwell on them.  Now that I'm married and have to pay for all these things, it's been difficult to try to explain to my husband that it's not my fault I have all these random issues, and that it's just something we're gonna have to live with for eternity. Medical Bills. Well....because of this, he's decided to become a Physicians Assistant. hahaha. we figured it would help with all the medical bills to come :) 

 Ever since Tanner and I have been married, we've had to communicate and work together to try to make everything in life work out.  Making enough money to live basically.  And at the same time, try to keep our spirituality up to par, and do all these things that we did growing up 'because our parents made us.'  Now it's our responsibility, and it's hard sometimes! No one is perfect.  Anyway, in the process of doing all these things, I have made it a goal to pay tithing every time Tanner and I get payed.  This is really hard sometimes because every penny counts when you are a poor married college student.  But I have a really strong testimony of tithing, and I'm not going to let it stop now! I believe that since we've been so diligent in paying our tithing, going to church weekly, etc, we've had many tender mercies come upon us.

After a dentist appointment awhile back, I realized that we hadn't gotten the bill for the many cavities they filled.  Well, my Dad told me  later that my dentist voided my last visit which was $350.  I was so grateful for that. I didn't even know what to say.  I am probably the person that keeps that place going, but still, for a doctor to completely void $350 of someones visit, that's what I call a tender mercy.  

Something else that happened awhile ago when we payed our apartment rent.  One of mine and Tanners favorite restaurant is Costa Vida.  After we payed our rent amount, our manager came up to our apartment a week later, and said we were the first ones to pay our rent, so we got a $30 gift card to Costa Vida.  I was so excited! I jumped on Tanner, and rejoiced haha.  That's just something little, but I call that our tender mercy #2.

 Tender mercy #3 was our bless-ed tax return.  We got a plentiful amount back, and we were so grateful for that as well.  It came at just the perfect time when we needed a little extra cash.

When I got my colonoscopy, our bill came.  Most people wouldn't call this a tender mercy, but I do.  I'm grateful for the insurance that I'm on because it payed for 70% of my surgery!  We only had to pay 30%, and we were SO grateful.  Tender mercy #4. 

Last but not least, this happened just recently.  I had a little accident a couple weeks ago where I accidentally broke our ipad.  The screen was cracked, and I felt so bad.  I knew we didn't have the money to fix it right away, so we were in a bit of a pickle.  Well, long story short, Tanner called the stand company, and they made us a deal.  They said that whatever apple wouldn't cover pay for our ipad, they would cover the rest.  Which means that we don't have to pay a single thing for our broken ipad.  SUCH A TENDER MERCY!  There have been other little tender mercies since we've been married, but these have just been a few of the big ones. I'm so grateful for these little "trials" that happen every day.  No one likes trials, but you know what, they sure do make us stronger, and they help us appreciate the gifts and things God has given us.  I think one of the biggest things I've learned since being married is that life gives us lemons.  And when we get these lemons, the best thing to do is make lemonade.  And if you do that, little 'tender mercies' will continue to come your way.  I'm so grateful for all of the tender mercies that have come my way, and I look forward to the rest.