This Week I Choose... Listening

Hi Everyone!

Gandhi said, “The Voice for Truth is available to every single one of us every single day, and it is as loud as our willingness to listen.” When I first heard that quote, I decided to experiment with it. I practiced the simple willingness to listen for that Voice (The still, small voice that’s mentioned in the Bible. Or what I like to call “The Voice That Loves Me.”), and the more I listened for it, the easier it became for me to hear it and then follow wherever it led me, whether it made logical sense or not.

Talk about a grand adventure! That experiment was probably the biggest reason that I still believe that Divine Orchestration is a real thing, because no matter how far “out there” some of those nudges took me, or how painful or uncomfortable they were, I was always able to see – later. Sometimes much later - the Divine at work in the situation.

And now here I am, 25 years later and playing that game again due to a big fat reminder that Divine Orchestration is very real. A couple of days ago I was at the grocery store, just for a couple of things. I don’t care much for checking my own items, but that day I only had five things - two of one thing and three of another. The self-checkout would have gotten me out of there more quickly than waiting in line for a cashier, but when I headed for the self-checkout area, I got a gentle “nudge” to get in line for one of the cashiers. I did so, and while I was waiting for the conveyor to clear a bit so I could set my items down, I noticed the woman in front of me in line.

She was a beautiful elderly woman who was probably in her late eighties or early nineties. As she was getting ready to leave, I told her that I admired how well put together she was and that I thought she was lovely. Her response was, “Oh, thank you so much! I needed to hear that. Today has not been a good one for me, and you just made it a lot better.”

There is NO WAY that was not a bit of Divine Orchestration. The Voice That Loves Me only ever gives me nudges - like “go to a cashier,” “don’t go behind the bushes and cry,” or “take a different route home from work.” EVERY time I’ve received clear guidance like that, and followed it with faith, the results have been amazing. The fun part about it is that Guidance never goes into detail. It doesn’t say, “Go to a cashier because when you do you’re going to wind up behind a lovely woman who needs to hear something positive from you right now.” No. It just said, “Go to a cashier,” and left it at that. The rest was up to me saying the words to her, and her being able to receive them.

I know to the core of who I am that that was a Divinely Orchestrated interaction – one that never would have happened if I had not listened to and followed that gentle nudge that told me I should take the less ideal way to get my shopping done. I was - and still am - SO grateful that I listened to that bit of Divine guidance. I didn’t lose anything except a few minutes of my time, and I gained another bit of evidence to add to my list of (recognized) fun and fantastic results in my life that were unquestionably due to my listening for, and following, a nudge like that.

This week, I am choosing to listen for – and to – the Voice for Truth that Gandhi spoke of. I am choosing to get back into the habit of diligently listening, because I remember how much of an adventure that can be, and I know that it’s always worth it.

Care to join me?

Love
Sandi