Tender mercies.

Sometimes you get so tempted, or so lost, and you don't know what to do. You know you're lost but you can't find the way back. You've tried and tried and tried on your own but it just hasn't worked out. You may have been back for a little bit but then, unfortunately, you strayed again. So, in your heart, and out loud, you ask Heavenly Father for forgiveness, and you ask Him to help you. And then He sends you someone. He'll send you someone that you'll look up to, and whom you'll love and adore an awful lot, who believes the same things you do (note that they may not always), and you'll start to change, to try and be a better person, so that you can be like them and, slowly but surely, that temptation will just fade. It will not be so tempting, and you won't want to do it anymore. And you'll look back and you'll think, "What was I thinking? Life is soo much better without it." And you'll be forever thankful for that person, even though they might not ever know it. They were just living their life, and didn't even know that you needed something from them. But The Lord did, and so He put them in your life. The Lord works miracles, and He sends tender mercies, and I can't help but love Him. He can't help but love and help me. I was seriously in a deep, deep pickle and I didn't think I could get out of it. I had been trying and trying to get out of it for at least one school year. And then there was high school. Someone was put in my life that made me want to be a better person. I saw what life could bring me and I wanted it, but I knew that my temptation wouldn't bring me the lifelong happiness I so desperately wanted. So, slowly and surely, I was able to stop being tempted by my temptation, and I replaced it with good things, like scripture study and working on my Personal Progress. And now, I can happily say that I don't remember the last time I was tempted by that particular temptation because it's been a while. And I know that Heavenly Father blessed me by sending her to me, because she (unknowingly) helped me get over my temptation. And I will forever be thankful to my Heavenly Father, and I will forever be thankful for her. I have seen the hand of The Lord in my life so many times and, each time, I never realize it until afterwards. But His influence is always there. His tender mercies may not always be so bold. Sometimes it may be something as simple as a butterfly, or a smile from a stranger, a beautiful day after rain, or even a bright sunny day. It might even be a simple phrase from someone or the scriptures. Whatever the tender mercy, they're always there. They're in our life all the time, whether or not we recognize or realize them.