License and Registration, Please...

I am not clairvoyant--not even close.  But from time to time, the Spirit can give us little flashes of light to help make decisions that will make our future brighter.  Sometimes, these brilliant bursts make absolutely no sense when they occur, but we would each be wise to follow them when they do.

Last night, as I was rushing out the door to attend a Relief Society meeting at church, I grabbed my keys and thought, "I'd better pick up that wad of cash on the counter, just in case I get pulled over."  It was a completely illogical thought.  It also seemed silly to think that $20 in small bills would somehow spare me from getting a ticket in the event that I did get pulled over.  But, as I mentioned, I was running out the door, so I didn't question the validity of this random thought.  I simply shoved the extra cash into my coat pocket and hit the road.

Not far into my trip, I passed a police cruiser with lights flashing.  "Oh, bummer,"  I thought, "Someone got pulled over."  A minute or so later, a friend called my cell phone telling me that the unfortunate soul who got pulled over was our friend who had been rushing to deliver some special items for our Relief Society meeting!  She wanted me to drive back to retrieve the cake, ice cream, and balloons that were being detained by the Law back along the side of the road.

So, I returned to the scene of the crime, and needless to say, our dear friend "Speedy-Gonzalez" was more than distraught over the $200 ticket she had just received.  Suddenly, my strangely illogical thought made perfect sense.  It wasn't Me who was going to be pulled over, it was my friend.  

I pulled the cash from my pocket and handed it to my friend.  It wasn't enough to really make much of a dent in the bill she will have to pay, but sometimes this sort of experience is not about covering our financial hardships.  The real comfort is in knowing that God knows the end from the beginning, that He cares about the details of our lives, that He will reach out to us, even when we make silly human errors, and sometimes He will reach us through a friend.  

Most importantly, an experience like this assures me that the Holy Ghost, who acts in total harmony with God the Father and Jesus Christ, is a powerful, compassionate Being who can help us walk in wisdom and truth as we seek to follow His promptings--even the ones that don't seem to make very much sense to our limited human minds.  

As we increase our sensitivity to these promptings, we will be better prepared to love and serve those around us.  And doesn't that just feel good?