Nudge

Nudge

Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life.

I HAD PLANNED A PARTY where women could come and shop for products, and I hadn’t invited Julie. I knew her well enough to know that she doesn’t particularly like those kinds of parties and would rather not attend. We’re good enough friends that she can be honest about it. It’s one of the things I love about our relationship.

But as the week of the party approached, I felt a nudge to invite Julie. That’s silly, I thought. Julie doesn’t even like these parties. More than once the thought came to me to invite her, but I brushed it off.

The night of the party one woman, a mutual friend of Julie’s and mine, showed up looking sad. She was going through a hard season and just needed to talk. I listened and offered encouragement, but as the night ended, I thought, I wish Julie would have been here to offer a listening ear as well.

The next morning I called Julie and told her about the party. “I would have come!” she said.

“Of course you would have, friend,” I replied. “Why didn’t I listen to that nudge earlier in the week? I guess I just thought it was silly and probably wouldn’t have mattered. I should have told you to just stop by.”

Because if there’s one thing I know about Julie, she loves people and will take any opportunity to come alongside and love women in her life well. And I missed the nudge to invite her. We made a pact that day that we would listen to a nudge, even if it seemed futile, even if nothing came of it. We determined we would rather err on the side of listening than miss an opportunity from the Holy Spirit.

Learning to listen to the Holy Spirit takes time and intention. Sometimes we do well; other times life can get so busy, it drowns out his still, small voice. But God is continually gracious to us. He continues to speak to us, nudging us, each day. If only we’ll open our ears to hear.

Lord, help us to listen to the nudge of the Holy Spirit today. Amen.

-Kendra

One Good Step: Listen for a nudge from the Holy Spirit and then take a step to act on what he tells you to do.