Today I gained a new appreciation for this video. I got a call around 2:30 from my dad. He wanted to let me know he'd been doing some research about why I hadn't received as big of a tax return as I did last year, discovered that I had filed my taxes wrong, and that I should be receiving more this year than I had filed for. Then, he spent an hour and a half over the phone with me helping me figure out how to fill out forms to request an amendment. This is on top of having already spent an hour and a half two days ago helping me with the original forms.
Yes--I realize that I'm 22 and should probably be perfectly capable of filing my taxes all by myself, but that's beside the point. The point is that after I hung up with my dad (and let the headache of trying to figure out taxes for an hour and a half subdue) a feeling of immense love and gratitude overcame me as I realized what had just happened:
My dad loves me enough to spend an hour and a half helping me file my original taxes.
My dad loves me enough to spend time trying to figure out why my return for this year was significantly less than last year.
My dad loves me enough to spend another hour and a half over the phone with me, helping me figure out and file the amendment forms.
I took this all in, then compared it to how different it could have gone:
What if I didn't have a dad to help English-minded me with my taxes?
What if I didn't have a dad willing to spend time researching why my return this year was less than last year?
What if I didn't have a dad kind enough to spend time talking me through things over the phone until they were the way they needed to be?
And then, after considering all of this, my next thought was this:
If I have an earthly father who loves me enough to sit down and spend hours helping me figure out my taxes; just think of what that says about my Heavenly Father--a being whom I know loves me infinitely more and does infinitely more for me.
This video came to mind, and in that moment the love that both my earthly father and my Heavenly Father have for me swelled within my chest and I struggled to keep the tears of gratitude in my eyes from spilling over in the middle of the library.
I am so grateful for the blessing of having a righteous earthly father who, in so many ways, exemplifies the same love, care, and devotion that my Heavenly Father has for me. I'm also grateful for the knowledge that I have a Heavenly Father; that He loves me dearly; and that He invests time, energy, and care into my life every day so that I may someday return to Him.
As much as I appreciate the extra money that will be sitting in my bank account in a month, the expressions of love and gratitude I feel in my heart right now are worth more than any amount of money; they are the real tender mercy.
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