Listening
“The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation
is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life.”
~Julie B. Beck, from this fabulous talk
I have a little story for you. I call it -
Huh?
Sometimes when I feel inspired to do something, it’s not a very inspiring thing of itself. It’s not a big deal. Just something little that seems of no consequence.
My Mom recently had such an experience.
She spent a long time in early May going through all her photographs, picking her favorites to burn onto a CD for me to use here on my blog. Aww… Wasn’t that thoughtful? Seriously. She’s great, and I’ve loved these beautiful photos bringing a little color into my humdrum life.
When she was ordering the CD, she felt like she should have another one made.
Huh? Really? What for? Who could possibly need a CD like this?
I picture her forehead crinkling as she thinks it over, shrugs, crosses out the number and orders one more. I might not have. It really was a crazy thing to do, and I’m still learning to trust that feeling.
Well….
Fast forward a month. I’m telling her about our computers being stolen, and we chat about it for a while.
She pauses for a moment, a lightbulb goes “ding!” over her head, and then she asks,
“Was that photo CD in the laptop?”
I bet you can guess the answer. She knew it too, really, without asking, but I’ll go ahead and tell you.
Yes, it was.
Turns out she wasn’t crazy for making an “extra” – it was headed right back here!
How cool is that?!
It just shows to go ya’ that you never really go wrong when you listen to the Holy Ghost – even when at the time you have no idea why or how it will turn out.
Thanks for listening, Zannie. My blog feels better now.





<3
beautiful pictures! I wish I were better at listening and following. I’m trying. Great story.
I’m really trying to get better at this, but it’s hard! Thanks for the encouragement!
Great story! I love those little tender mercies.
I had a similar experience last week. Going to the library, I thought about taking the kids with me. The Spirit whispered not to take my children. So I didn’t. Don’t know why. A man in my ward was there, and as I chatted with him he asked if I bring my kids to the library often. I told him no. He said, “That’s a good thing.” Huh? Still don’t know exactly why, but I’m not anxious to find out, either.
Nice! What a great mom.
Love the photos! We are learning how to follow the spirit around here too. I have a new resource to share on my blog if I ever get around to blogging again.
Not to sound repetitious but, love the photos.
Sitting here, pondering the fact that your Mom made the extra CD to replace the one stolen along with your laptop. And what strikes me is not just the fact that your mom listened, but that the Lord KNEW your laptop would BE stolen… making the extra CD sorta like a Hug from Heaven!
Hug from heaven! That’s exactly what it was.
More inspiration from Mrs. Smith! Thanks for sharing, and for the reminder, and for that great talk link (which I LOVE).
And I love you, too!