These last several months I have been trying harder to listen to the Spirit when it prompts me to do something. So many times in my past I have a thought to do something and I dismiss it as just my own personal thoughts, and then later something happens that makes me realize that it wasn't just my own thoughts, but the Spirit prompting me to act. It has been really cool to watch how my Heavenly Father has been able to use me to do his work, even in the smallest ways. Most of the time I don't know why I am prompted to do something, I just do it with the Faith that its what I am supposed to do. It is usually very small acts too like giving someone a call, or dropping off some goodies, or inviting a neighbor to an activity. In the last month I have had two different experiences where I have acted and seen the result of my actions. It has really strengthened my faith, and also made me want to always be in tune with the Spirit.
The first experience started last winter when I decided to shovel the snow on my block. Usually I only shovel down one or two houses and then stop, but I had the thought..." keep shoveling" so I shoveled the next house down. The owner of the house, who I had never met came out and thanked me, and that was that. This last summer when I had the thought to throw a block party, we invited all our neighbors, including some that we had never met. It was a huge success, we had tons of fun and made some new friends. One friend I made was Debbie and Roger who live 3 doors down from me and is also the neighbor who's walk I shoveled last winter. Since this party we have kept in touch. I learned that Debbie was having hip surgery and offered to make her dinner when she got home. She was very excited about the offer, and gladly accepted (I forget the whole meal thing is a Mormon tradition) When she got home, she called and I took in a meal. Debbie and Roger invited me in to talk which was a first. She wasted no time and started right in on the questions. :) It was like she had been thinking for weeks and finally built up the courage to ask. She was asking me questions all about my Faith and Religion. We discussed everything from the Book of Mormon, to Joseph Smiths first vision, to the Second Coming of Christ. I was at her house for well over an hour. I was amazed at how my Heavenly Father has prepared me to not only get to know Debbie and Roger but he literally filled my mind with the answers to her questions. I have no doubt that my Heavenly Father prompted me to shovel her walk last year, to throw a block party and invite her last summer, and has had his hand in our building friendship ever since. I don't know what is next, but I have no doubt that Heavenly Father knows, and that he will use me to fulfill his plan.
So I know this post is reallllllyyyyy long :) but I have one more experience that I had this last week, and I don't want to forget about it. At scouts on Thursday, I sat behind the stake presidents family. I noticed that sister Hathaway seemed tired, but dismissed it because what mother of 6 young kids isn't tired? The next morning I woke up and immediately had the thought that I needed to make the Hathaway's dinner that night. At first I tried to talk myself out of it, I felt silly because I really don't know the family that well. I worried what she would think when she opened her door and saw me there with dinner. The whole morning I could not get the thought out of my head, so I went to Fred Meyer and bought the ingredients to make my favorite comfort food, Lasagna and garlic bread. I prepared the meal, but did not bake it because I had no idea if they even needed dinner that night. I took it over to her early enough so if she had not started diner yet, she could eat what I had made. I was still nervous about what she would think as I rang the doorbell. When Sister Hathaway answered the door and saw me there with the food, she started to cry. She then proceeded to tell me that she had had the flu for 6 days and scouts was the first time she had left the house in over a week. Her kids had also been sick. She was on the mend but had very little energy to get anything done. Dinner was exactly what she needed that day. I don't know why Heavenly Father prompted me to make that meal instead of someone else, but I am so glad I listened. I am learning that my Heavenly Father is so aware of us and what we need. He answers our prayers and if I stay close to the Spirit and live my life right, I can help to answers a few prayers myself.
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