Get the Hint!

Have you ever made a mental note about something, just to realize too late that you lost the note? I do it all the time. My husband will often ask me to do something while I'm cooking or changing a diaper, so I make a mental note about it. A few days later I'll have this uncomfortable feeling of having forgotten something important, but I just can't remember so I shrug it off. But the minute he says, "Honey, did you...", the light will finally come on and suddenly I can't believe I forgot!

I don't just do that to my husband. I'm pretty sure I've done that to a few friends too, but mostly I do that to God! How awful, right? It's quite common, actually. It's been said that prayer is a conversation yet most of us make it a monologue. God has things to say to us and not only through the Bible. Just like we need to listen to people around us with both ears and everything in between, we also need to learn to listen to the ways God speaks to us. I said "the ways" because God is so full of grace and compassion, He knows exactly where you are, how you feel and what you need. The way he speaks to you is unique. When I haven't had enough sleep and it's taking pretty much all my energy and concentration to make a pot of coffee while an equally tired and crabby baby is pulling at my pajama pants, God knows I'm not able to sit down and seek his voice over a deep study of Corinthians. But that doesn't stop Him from speaking! He isn't like us when we sometimes don't speak to someone because they are ignoring us. Thank you Jesus!

So one of the awesome ways God has been speaking to me lately is through what I call hints. When I'm folding laundry and thinking about the next ten things on my list to do that day, all of a sudden something will remind me of my friend so-and-so. I'll think about something funny they said on facebook or something difficult they are going through and then my baby boy will start babbling about something and the thought is gone. Before I know it, the day is over and I'll think back to that random thought earlier and wonder how it even got to my brain.

Well, I've started to realize that perhaps God was hinting at something and perhaps I should respond. Maybe that person needed prayer at that moment. Maybe a call or a text message of encouragement. Maybe that person is feeling like no one cares and they need to know that God put them on my mind. Maybe it would simply deepen my relationship to that person if I just called to say hi.

Maybe it's not all about me and my little world. It's about God and touching people, and He is giving me hints so I can have the opportunity to do just that! If you can relate in any way, join me and get the hint! :)