It’s good advice; I'm just not sure I understand it. I
am not even sure what the little voice is.
Is it intuition? The Holy Spirit? The voice of reason? Proverbs 2:6 indicates that it may be God-given wisdom.
What I do know is that I have had two recent incidents when
I should have listened, but didn’t.
The first was about a week ago. E and his roommate spent the
last few days of his Christmas vacation in San Diego. When it was time for them
to return home, that little voice told me to check with them to make sure they
had boarded the plane. I did, and they had. Relieved, I started my work day. It
was a four-hour flight, leaving plenty of time to work for a while before
leaving for the airport.
Before leaving, I felt this little nudge to ask if the boys
had made arrangements for someone to pick them up once they landed, but I
ignored it. E has several buddies who live closer to the airport, who would
willingly drive them home, but he would have mentioned it, wouldn’t he?
When it was time to leave, I finished up my work, jumped in
the truck and headed toward the Atlanta. My wife rode with me. We had some work
done on E’s car and had just learned that it was ready. The garage was on the
way to the airport, so it made sense to carpool that far.
Along the way, the thought occurred to me to ask my bride of
22 years if E had told her that he needed us to pick him up, but I dismissed
it.
You already know where this is going.
The idea that I should ask E about his return plans occurred
to me once more on my way to the ATL, but I ignored it.
I was about 10 minutes from the airport when E texted me.
They had landed, and a friend was there to drive them home. He’d see me at home
after work. I did not get mad. I really didn’t. I told him not to worry. It
would be fine, and it was. E felt terrible. He vowed to make it up to me. He
even brought me my favorite cupcake as penance that night. The cupcake was not
necessary. He was not to blame.
I turned around in a McMansion subdivision and headed back
home. A waste of three hours of my life? Maybe. Who knows? But I couldn’t be
mad. I had three opportunities, distinct nudges, to ask my boy whether he
needed a ride, and I ignored them all. This was my fault.
A couple of days ago, my daughter was finishing an art
project, a clay project that required baking. She told me to put the oven on
275 and bake the clay for 45 minutes.
I double checked the time and temperature with her and paid
attention to the feeling that I should lower the temperature. I opted for 250.
The clay would bake while she and I went for our scheduled dessert date. There
was only one problem. My little voice told me the temperature should be 175,
but I ignored it.
The clay burned while we were gone. When we returned, the lavender
was brown and the purple was black. A was mad and directed her anger at the
clay instructions. I was mad at myself. This second look, unexplainable feeling,
intuitive nudge to set the temperature at 175, and I didn’t.
I should have listened to--and obeyed--my little voice.
It wasn’t telling me to do anything morally wrong. It wasn’t
telling me to do something that was not rational. It wasn’t telling me to do
something weird. It would have been one phone call or text. It would have been
one slight turn of the dial. It would have saved me hours, gas and a fast-food
lunch. It would have saved E the price of a cupcake and a helping of guilt.
Always listen to your
little voice, "for the Lord gives wisdom." Definitely good advice.
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