How I Hear Him

This morning I woke up at 4:30 (insomnia thoughts here) and knew I wasn't going to fall back asleep.  Seemingly out of the blue, I thought for a minute about the Keller family--one of the Coon family's favorite friends from back in the day.  I wondered, as I was slipping my shoes on and tiptoeing out of my room, if I was friends on Facebook with all five of the Keller kids.

I shuffled around, cranked up the heater (which is set low at night) and fired up the computer.  I read a conference talk, then found some great pictures of Boyd to post for Kathryn--today is his birthday and she wisely asked family and friends to share some favorite stories about Boyd, to celebrate him today.  It was so bittersweet (but mostly sweet) to write down some memories of Boyd and share this hilarious video:

Seriously.  The best hugs.

A lovely Sunday walk to the reservoir in April

The wee hours turned into the early hours.  I talked to Brigham when he got up at 5:30 to head to the gym, did the dishes, ate a bagel. I kept checking the clock for when I should wake up Calvin and Mollie.  Then I remembered I wanted to find the Kellers.

I was already "friends" with all five kids (and parents) in this sweet family, but because of Facebook's complicated algorithms, I hadn't seen any posts from Maria in a long time (she is the youngest Keller, and best friend to my youngest sister, Katie).  I was so surprised to read that she is currently recovering, at age 34, from a heart attack . . . with a sweet little one-month-old baby!

But I admit, I was even more surprised to realize that the Spirit had prompted me to check on this family, to reconnect with them and see how they're doing.  I know it was not a coincidence.  I know I was given a very direct "nudge" to think of these good friends from my formative years.  And I realized as I started to write down all these thoughts, that Boyd probably wants--on his birthday and on every day--to see people reaching out to others who are suffering.

I want to add my prayers to all the ones that are surely being offered for sweet Maria and her cute family.  I want to be better at being grateful for my in-person friendships and social media friendships and long-lost friendships.  Our Father in Heaven has blessed us with so many avenues to serve and bless His children, our brothers and sisters--thanks to technology, we can communicate and share and forgive and heal and express gratitude in more ways than ever before.

So . . . I am learning that how I "hear Him" is in every thought I have to do something good.  It might sound like my own thoughts or my own voice, and it might seem like a really simple or even dumb thing . . . but if it's good, it's from my Father in Heaven.  It's from the Holy Spirit, which gift is more readily recognized every time I try to act for good.

Six weeks ago, I was impressed by Elder William K. Jackson's words in General Conference about the "culture of Christ." I loved studying his message again on Sunday morning. It is so relevant and needed in my life!

"In most man-made cultures, there is found both good and bad, constructive and destructive. Many of our world’s problems are a direct result of clashes between those of differing ideas and customs arising from their culture. But virtually all conflict and chaos would quickly fade if the world would only accept [the culture of Christ] . . . It unites rather than divides. It heals rather than harms . . . There is no prejudice or “us versus them” mentality in the greatest of all cultures. We are all “us.” We are all “them.”"