Listening for God

For I know the plans I have for you (Jer 29:11)

I was listening to Catholic radio this morning while driving in the car and the host asked the listeners how they heard God when He talked to them.  Since I had reached my destination I did not hear the answers but it did give me a chance to reflect on how I would respond.  Probably the best way I hear what God wants from me is listening to my husband.  He has very often been the voice of God giving me the direction in my life.

When we were first married he encouraged me to start going back to Mass on a regular basis.  Now mind you he is not a church-goer by any stretch of the imagination.  But I listened to him and started back to church and it made a world of difference.  Quite a few years later he saw an article in the local paper about something called Stephen Ministry.  It is a ministry founded by a Lutheran pastor that empowers members of a congregation to be active listeners to fellow parishioners in crisis, thus taking some of the burden off overburdened pastors.  I went to the meeting and ended up signing up for the next training program at my parish.

The next suggestion from the Lord via my husband was to investigate parish nursing.  That led me to one of the best and most spiritual times of my life.  Parish nursing is an effort to teach members of a faith community about the importance of the connections between faith and wellness.  I wrote short articles for the church bulletins, visited the homebound and the hospitalized.  I helped educate a few members of the clergy on the stages of dying.  

So in response to the radio host I would have to say my husband is the usual messenger the Good Lord uses to tell me what He wants from me.