Of Pickles and Promptings

I have a dear Pentecostal Christian friend who has a talent for being able to hear promptings and serve friends as an instrument in God's hands.

My favorite story from her is the one where she was impressed to buy a specific, gigantic jar of pickles for a friend.  She felt sheepish and not a little stupid as she stood on her friend's doorstep with a big 'ole jar of pickles, until her friend burst into tears and told of how our dear Heavenly Father had shown her in a deeply personal way through that stupid jar of pickles that He was aware of her needs and concerns.


There is no better feeling than the one that comes as we serve each other as the Savior would.
I have several loved ones who have been in crisis situations lately, and my heart has burst with love and pain and concern for them.  I've spent time in fasting and prayer in their behalf, and have prayed specifically for ways to serve them. 

I've had a couple of situations where I felt prompted to do something, and had it turn out to be maybe just my own stupidity. It's so difficult to tell the difference, sometimes between an idea in my own head, and a prompting from the Holy Ghost.

 But if I'm fasting and praying for you, and I feel prompted to stop and get you a smoothie on the way home, I'll do it.  If you're not home when I get there, I'll eat the smoothie, no worries.  
It's almost as if the Lord was trying to see if I'd follow promptings, even with the uncomfortable threat of looking stupid.  I hope I showed Him that I was willing to trust and do my best.
When I felt prompted to act in behalf of one of my children lately, I did it, several times.  It was bewildering to me, and I felt even that it was making the child feel that I didn't trust them to make good choices.
Then, the prompting saved that child from disaster.

I then felt prompted to blog about it.  The words came easily, and it was uncomfortable, but there were several reasons that I could think of that it would be a good choice.

A couple of hours later, I felt that I should tell the child about the blog, and about my reasons for it.  We talked a lot about shame, and how it is an unproductive emotion.  We discussed the difference between sin and mistake.  I told her of the responses I'd gotten in such a short period of time, and of how many others had experienced similar situations, and I was able to show her how many REAL people love her and were praying for her.  

She said it was OK that I'd shared, but asked me to remove the blog, which I felt good about, and I did. (She was afraid siblings would tease her.)

I've gotten some flak about that choice, and I freely admit that maybe it was a mistake. I'm not perfect, and I'm still learning.

But I can't deny that I was prompted to blog that day, and I'm not sorry that I did.  

Heavenly Father has given P and I words to say and things to do to help this child.  He has gone out of His way to let us know that she is His child, and that He loves her, and that she is safe in His hands.

I'm here to bear my witness that God loves each of His children.  I know that Jesus Christ is able to help us in our pain, and with our sins and mistakes, because of the atonement.  He can make things right.
He will send others to help us, and there are angels in Heaven and on Earth that bless us in our darkest times. 
I'm so thankful when I am allowed to serve someone in His behalf.
I'm also very thankful for friends who support and pray for us.