More on the Subject

So how do we go about handling the simple things in a wise and inspired way? When I lived in Salinas, I had a good friend who was the mother of twin boys who were about 2 years old at the time with another child on the way. Life seemed full of chaos for her but she was always so sweet and cheerful, truly one of the nicest people I ever met. I wondered how she kept her sanity intact when life was far from perfect for her. It had to be more than just her sweet personality, right? One person could only contain so much patience, right? Well, as I spent more time with her I found out her "secret". She said she followed the promptings of the Holy Ghost constantly. She said she even prayed about when she should put them down for naps when she was having trouble getting them to sleep. She said one time her boys wouldn't stop screaming and she had tried everything she could think of to calm them down when finally she felt prompted to sing a hymn to them and it worked she said. She said she had even tried to sing other songs before that and they didn't work (and she has a truly beautiful voice by the way), but by following that still small voice and not doubting (cause she could have thought, um, I just tried singing...) she was able to calm her children down. I am reminded of another Ensign article "Lullaby for Timothy" that quotes"By putting our trust in the Lord, we can give our worries to Him, and He in turn will lift us, giving special gifts to sustain us—often through other people."
So through the example of my friend there, what I'm trying to say is that I think handling the little things in a wise and inspired way is about having the gift of the Holy Ghost. When we are in tune with the Spirit, I think we let our gut reactions move over for the quiet promptings of the Holy Ghost instead. I will admit, I have a hard time with this. And I know a lot of people only feel comfortable praying for the bigger things in life--illnesses, husband finding a new job or traveling safe on a long trip, but what I think what we forget is pointed out in this next conference talk--
"As disciples of Christ, we must make the gift of the Holy Ghost a conscious, daily, prayerful part of our lives. President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said, “No one of us can survive in the world of today, much less in what it soon will become, without personal inspiration.”⁴ UAdd a Note How can we use this heavenly gift as a vital compass for our daily actions? We must believe that even in our weaknesses, the still, small voice we feel comes from our Father. We must pray and ask and seek and then not be afraid when answers come into our heart and mind. Believe they are divine. They are."
I feel like I've let the chaos and constant drudgery of every day life drown out the Spirit for quite a while now. Which, in realizing this, makes me feel foolish because I am denying myself my greatest source of help and comfort. I remember a time when I used to know how the Spirit prompting me felt, I could recognize it readily, I need to rediscover that in my life. I don't know why I've been floundering on my own for so long, it just seemed like more things on my to do list: read scriptures, pray regularly, go to the temple I had to do in order to have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, I just felt like I could do without those things bugging me for awhile. Elder Jairo Mazzagardi said "What may appear to be of little importance, such as going to bed late, not praying for a day, skipping fasting, or breaking the Sabbath--such little slips--will make us lose sensitivity little by little, allowing us to do worse thing." and may I add, lose sensitivity to the promptings of the Spirit as well. In short, I believe there isn't any situation too small or inconsequential that the Spirit can help us with if we let it. The Lord is on our side! I know I want to recommit myself to doing what's necessary and right to be in tune to have this great gift in guiding and helping me to be the Mother I want to be.
However, we aren't the only ones on the missing out end too though, someone else misses out when we aren't getting inspiration from the Lord. I will talk more on this tomorrow, I think we've had enough food for thought for now :)