tender mercies

overall, this day has been productive and enlightening. today Livvy caught on to eating solid pieces of food! yay! so we sat on the couch and munched on some banana puffs together. sometimes it just feels good to sit next to her and not say anything. our spirits communicate on an unbelievable level. i adore her. and she is growing so so fast! i wish i could slow time and keep her my baby forever...i also did my visiting teaching for the month, and it was my turn for the lesson. i never like choosing articles from the ensign, as it seems so cliche and overdone. so i try and find something that i've been reading, or something i've been wanting to read. today, i used the speech my mother had given me on "becoming and overcoming". one of the points i had highlighted talked about how we can help others because we have trials. if we never experienced anything awful, we couldn't put our arms around those who were going through the exact same and truthfully say "I KNOW how it feels." we really do have to go through pain in order to understand that of others. another section i mark talked about not forgetting the times the Lord has come through for us in the past. not only did it hit a heart string for the woman i was visiting, (it brought tears to her eyes reminding her of a very special moment she too often forgot) but it is also one i definitely need to work on. i'm always so caught up in the moment that i tend to forget everything good and everything that has helped me grow to the point where i can HANDLE what is thrown at me now. i know He is always there for me. and i had a special reminder just this evening. i had been to the gym to work out some of my current frustrations and anxieties, and was stopping at the store to pick up some last minute ingredients for dinner. on the way out, the sun started peeking through the dark clouds on the horizon...and i knew God was watching over me. i knew HE knew my life was filled with a lot of "storm clouds" right now, and that i needed that little bit of sunshine to give me hope for a brighter day. it gives me peace to know the Lord is so tender a Father that he finds ways to show us each individually that He IS aware. like my ray of sunshine. i know it was for me. and i am grateful.