That Voice

I once heard the Holy Spirit explained this way: He speaks to all who call the Lord 'Lord.' But sometimes we ignore Him so often and become so accustomed to tuning Him out that our hearts are hardened and we don't hear Him anymore. Not because He has stopped speaking, but because we have stopped listening.

This has caused me to pause many times when I've heard that still small voice and redirect an action, an attitude or a behavior. I don't want to grow hard. I don't want to stop hearing.

Yesterday was my uncle's birthday. The kids and I were making Christmas crafts after lunch when I remembered. I'm not very good at remembering birthdays, but would like to be better. So I had a fleeting thought that maybe we should call and sing to him. The next thought was how ridiculous that would be.

I don't think I've ever wished my uncle a happy birthday. I've certainly never called him to sing happy birthday. At least not in my adult life. I'd classify our relationship as comfortable and familiar, but not close. I feared that if we called, he'd probably just think we were being goofy. I didn't want to bother him.

But then I heard that small voice that said, "what if I'm supposed to call him." So I prepped the kids and picked up the phone. We were greeted by the recording. Whew! We sang our song to the machine, I bumbled through a "happy birthday, we were just thinking of you" speech, and hung up. Deed done. If he thought we were silly, at least I'd never know it.

A couple hours later, our phone rang. "Hey, this is Uncle Rick. I just wanted to say thanks for calling. You made my day. Tell those kids of yours thanks, too." A few more pleasantries and the call was over, but I could hear in his voice that he was genuinely touched.

Wow! I was supposed to call. My uncle even called back to confirm it. He didn't have to, he could have just smiled and gone on with his evening and that would have been the end of it. But I think God wanted to show me, as He does so many times, that there is great value in listening to that still small voice of the Spirit. It aligns us with His purpose and His plan. And even when I think it's just me having a thought or idea, more often it's not. It's Him.

I don't know what the eternal ramifications of our happy birthday chorus will be. My uncle isn't saved and maybe it was a seed sown, but even if it wasn't, it was a valuable reminder to stop and listen and then do. Even if it's just to keep my own heart soft.