I have been meaning to blog this small tender mercy, but I haven’t found the opportunity until now. Getting back to school after the mission has seemed a bit crazy and I feel like my life has lost a lot of purpose, but the Lord has been filling my life with small tender mercies to remind me that even though I’m not a missionary, He is still VERY aware of me. Even if it’s as small as a little voice I hear just as I am about to walk out the door to my 8 am Chinese class that reminds me that my assignment that is due is still in the textbook on my dresser and not in my backpack, or something a bit bigger like helping me get home safely in the blizzard last night.
My second week of school I had a very random tender mercy that reminded me that God knows exactly what we need to hear, when we need to hear it. Every Tuesday we have the BYU devotionals and you can watch them in a few places. One option is live in the Marriott center, one is in the JSB in a movie theater type classroom, and then there are a few more small places around campus that show it (every TV automatically broadcast’s it at 11 on Tuesdays). Because I spend all the time on the opposite end of campus, I don’t always take the time to walk to the devotional at the Marriott. This Tuesday, I did the same and I was thinking about going to the JSB, but I remembered I used to always watch it in the Benson building and it was less crowded and more comfortable. So I went in, sat down, pulled out my lunch, and waited for it to start.
I got so excited when it announced that Brad Wilcox would be speaking. Mom had told me about a talk he had given while I was on my mission and how he’d written this amazing book. But I’ve only been home a few weeks and have no time to give thought to reading the book for myself. I also never even thought of watching the talk, so I was excited he was speaking at BYU again and hoping he would speak about some of the same things. All these kids and I watched as he gave one of the best talks ever. I was frantically taking notes during it because EVERY line was amazing and profound. I learned new things about the Atonement and felt this talk was geared JUST towards me at this moment. My heart was filled with such gratitude. And then something funny happened, in the talk he said, “And as pioneer day approaches..” And I thought, “I’m pretty sure it’s President’s day that’s next week not pioneer day.” And then the thought hit me, this was a rerun. No one else in the room seemed to think it was strange. I texted Karlie to confirm, and it was true, a rerun. Randomly, someone had chosen to set up the TV in the classroom to not play the live devotional that automatically is played on every computer or TV screen on campus and put on a rerun. I’m still not exactly sure why in this one classroom the rerun was playing, but I’m so grateful that God sent me there so that I could hear what I needed to hear. God new I wouldn’t have the extra time to sit and look up a talk mom had told me about while I was still in the MTC, but He knew I’d take Tuesday at 11:00 and that I’d be in the Benson building. I was grateful that he prepared a way for me to hear the message I needed that week. It was also a reminder that God knew where I would be because He LOVES me. He cared about what I would listen to that day.
To make the story even better, and make me even more appreciative, when I was telling mom and Heatherann about this story, they both were like, “I forgot that you’d never seen it! I thought you were the one that showed it to us!” So if I had not been in that classroom, I would have likely gone a LONG time without ever hearing this message. I know that God really cares about the things that we listen to. He really will give us the revelation and the message we need, if we are in the right place at the right time.
http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1966&view=2
I also decided to attach the video, just in case anyone hasn’t taken the time to listen to this talk before and I encourage those who have forgotten it’s message or who feel inspired to to watch it again! It’s great! 
Christ’s Atonement really is sufficient for us ALL!
Christ’s Atonement really is sufficient for us ALL!