The Spirit Really Does Whisper Sometimes the Oddest Things

I want to share an experience this week that really has highlighted again for me how subtle and unexpected the whisperings of the Spirit can be - and then share a thought at the end about how I have come to view inspiration.

I was talking with an acquaintance this week about her family connections to someone else, since I had not realized her maiden name linked her to a prominent family I knew. To my surprise, her response was that she was NOT related to that family - even though she shared their uncommon last name. She is from the family across the river in another town. She then made the following comment, completely on her own:

"Their family is Catholic; we are Christian."

My immediate reaction was to ask why she made that distinction - to point out to her that Catholics are Christians. After all, I have heard that same silly statement all of my adult life about Mormons. However, I had the thought that I should let it pass - so I simply continued the conversation and eventually walked away.

Within a few minutes, I was headed to a meeting and saw another friend. We were headed different directions, but I had the thought that he would get a kick out of her comment - since I assumed he was Catholic. Therefore, I altered my path, joined him and shared that part of the conversation with him - adding at the end that I had heard it all my life about Mormons, but to hear it so blithely about Catholics . . .

His response caught me off guard and made me understand, in a flash of clarity, the source of my thought to share it with him. He said:

"Since I'm with the Community of Christ (former RLDS), I know exactly what you mean."

We didn't talk about that, since we had places to go and meetings to attend, but I had NO idea that he shared my religious tradition to a degree. I had NO idea that my experience would resonate with him in that exact way. I still have NO idea exactly why I need to know he is a member of the Community of Christ. All I know is that the Spirit really does whisper sometimes the oddest promptings at the oddest times.

I have come to believe that I have no idea how often the thoughts that flash through my mind are my own and how often they are not - but I have resolved to follow through as much as I can on EVERY good thought (every thought that is not "bad") that crosses my mind, since I won't know until after the fact if it was merely my own mind or the whispering of the Spirit through a connection to the Vine.