Rocks, Flowers and Lessons in Listening

There I was, standing next to the van with two potted plants waiting while hubby went back into the nursery to hunt for the automatic opener for the car.  The humidity was a little higher than normal, but the breeze whipping through the large parking lot made the wait rather pleasant.

Just the day before in preparation for the BBQ at our home, I was operating the weed eater and broke one of the windows of our french doors with a rock.  Now, here I was standing in a parking lot while my husband was inside searching through the thousands of plants in hopes of finding the lost opener.  It appeared the BBQ was turning out to be more expensive than just the cost of the burgers and fixings.

I knew somehow I had to get that pinch out of my gut so right there in the parking lot I asked the Holy Spirit to calm me down.  A song whispered in my head and then came out my mouth.  The words...the song...which escapes me right now, were like honey in a fresh steeped cup of chamomile tea...soothing and sweet.  Almost instantly there was a peace within letting me know we would find the opener.

Within a few minutes, my tall redheaded husband came around the car shaking his head.  The opener was nowhere to be found.  We opted to go ahead and unlock the car with the key and set off the alarm so that we could at least get the plants out of the wind and we ourselves could sit down and decide what to do.  Given, this really wasn't a major but it was one of those minor irritations which would pull more bucks out of our pockets and that just wasn't a very pleasant thought.

Still peaceful, I decided to give it a go and headed back into the nursery to search some more.  I remembered the point where hubby was reaching out to help me with one of the plants and began my hunt there. As I put my hand into the planter closest to me, I felt something round and smooth.  Pulling the object out, I was joyously excited to see that it was indeed the lost opener.

The BBQ turned out great and we enjoyed visiting with new and old friends around mountains of summertime foods.  The flowers perked up the outdoor setting and the spidery window pane was a great conversation piece.  And, I did learn something that weekend.  The quiet voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to me to be careful around the rocks while operating the weed eater and the same quiet voice of the Comforter singing through me assuring me the lost would be found bore different results.  The first calling, I ignored...the second calling I heeded.  One cost me more than I wanted.  The other cost me nothing but instead gave me a wonderful peace and a deeper understanding of the importance of listening in the "little" things.