Prompting #1
I can't remember exactly when this took place. At some point last year I took a pair of pants of Ken's to launder and although I usually always check the pockets carefully, I wasn't careful. I felt distinctly impressed that I should remove the pants from the washing machine and carefully check the pockets. I didn't. I was holding something that I didn't want to put down, and I sort of checked the pockets. I think I checked the same pocket twice.
When it was time to put the laundry in the dryer I realized that Ken's fairly new and quite expensive ear buds had been washed. I felt so so dumb. So frustrated that I had ignored the prompting.
Everyone has learned from this story - my family and my ward family lol. Alice quoted the story in her talk during the primary presentation.
Prompting #2
Today when I was doing laundry, I was putting Kate's clothes in the washing machine. There was a lot of space left and I thought oh maybe I should add Alice's, but I don't like to wash their clothing together because I end up mixing up their things. But I felt prompted that I should add Alice's clothing. I started to say no to the prompting, but then I changed my mind.
As I added Alice's clothing to the washing machine I realized that almost half of her laundry basket was filled with clean folded clothing from last week. If I hadn't followed the prompting I wouldn't have finished the laundry tonight, and Alice's load of clothing would have been tiny and a huge waste of resources.
It felt like such a dumb prompting in the moment, but when I stopped to think about it, I felt deeply of my Heavenly Father's love for me. He cares about what I care about. There are so many tender mercies around us, we are so loved. Our Savior is ready to carry our burdens - like doing one less load of laundry, if we listen.
I still miss promptings - like this past week. I had put my shoes beside my boots on Tuesday night, but the voice said "put them in your car", however I said no because I didn't want to go into the cold garage. On Wednesday morning I forgot the shoes and had to wear my boots all day long! I should have listened to the voice! When I got home on Wednesday, I put the shoes in the car straight away!
It's silly/funny when I miss the little warnings and promptings - well, not so much when it costs a few hundred dollars, but I just hope that I keep learning how to listen, so that I don't miss things that really matter! I'm so grateful for the whisperings of the Holy Ghost.
One last thought on this. Years ago when Ken and I were in Don Valley Ward I was in a Relief Society lesson and the subject of listening to promptings came up. Melissa Wilson said something to the effect of "sometimes we worry about where the idea comes from, if it's a good idea, who cares where the idea comes from, just do it". I've thought about that a lot, and it's helped me to just listen and do instead of question. If it's good, just do it! The Book of Mormon says over and over again, all good things come from God. Whether we recognize God's hand or not, is up to us.
