Pam Padgett ... teacher
As we live on this earth we encounter various things that seem to us
to require us to take action of some kind. Sometimes we do need to take
action. But sometimes the flesh is stirred up and would lead us to get
involved in unnecessary activities, exhausting, troubling, and perhaps
even harming us in some way.
But when we turn to God, He is able to lead us in the best way for us
... whether to take some action and if so, what action to take ... or
whether to stay still in the matter.
My parents live in another state in the same small town where my niece
and her husband live. A few weeks ago I received a call from my niece
letting me know they had taken my mom to the hospital and that she was
quite ill. My niece was obviously very concerned. Thoughts came that I
should go there. To my flesh it seemed this is what I "should" do. But
when I turned to God, I kept hearing that there was nothing I could do
that wasn't already being taken care of. And I also had the thought that to go there for this would be like stepping
into an ant hill of fire ants. I tried these thoughts and believe they were from the Holy Spirit. So I stayed at my home.
The hospital is in a large city 3-4 hours from where my parents live. One of my sisters and her grown and married children live near this city. My other sister lives just 2 hours away. For many years my
parents lived near this city as well and have friends who still live
there. There was a small hotel in the hospital itself and my dad was able to get a room there. In addition to my niece, a friend of my parents was available to help my dad. Everything was taken care of, and after a week in the hospital, my mom was well enough to return home.
Earlier this week my mom called me. During the conversation she spoke of being well cared for at the hospital and also told me that the nurses at the hospital had commented
about how many visitors had come to visit her. She told me some of them. As she spoke, I recalled what I heard which caused me to stay home.
There was nothing I needed to do there. She was well cared for and there were people to help my dad. And many of the people who were there (including my parents) have troubled me in the past by what they do and
say. One of my sisters has even been hostile to me in the past. I have
no doubt I would have been "stung" by their words and actions, just as
if I stepped
into a hill of fire ants.
Many things would have
been hard for me had I gone. Even the trip itself would have been hard in
various ways. I was spared this unnecessary trouble by what I believe the Holy Spirit spoke to me when I prayed.