His Voice



 One year I had a particularly difficult little 4 year old boy in my class.  This kid was everywhere all the time and didn't ever hold still for more than 11 seconds.  I know because I timed him.  

Unless he sat on my lap.  Then he would lean back and relax in safety and use his arms to help mine hold him secure.  So that was generally where he needed to be for us to have a productive circle time.

I often say I'm not very patient, but in truth I'm incredibly patient with little children, I just get less patient with myself and other adults and teens.  I'm working on it. 

One day as I was calming this little guy down by softly talking to him and almost imperceptibly rocking and giving him some needed pressure on his overactive muscles, he leaned back and looked up into my eyes with his forehead on my chin.  "Mrs. Potter, I think your voice must be what God's voice sounds like." Then he snuggled in and I started circle time. 

It was without a doubt the greatest compliment I've ever received. For one tiny instant I had achieved my goal of reflecting His love to these precious souls in my care.  Not by preaching, but by how I lived and loved and interacted with them. 

Now don't worry.  I'm not saying that God's voice sounds like mine. 😂 Unfortunately I know too well of the many, many times others would say my voice has been hurtful.  If you are one of those please forgive me.  

In D&C 18:34-36 the Lord says:

"34 These words are not of men nor of man, but of me; wherefore, you shall testify they are of me and not of man;

35 For it is my voice which speaketh them unto you; for they are given by my Spirit unto you, and by my power you can read them one to another; and save it were by my power you could not have them;

36 Wherefore, you can testify that you have heard my voice, and know my words."

It is His voice.  Do we recognize it? It made me think. 

When you read talks from church leaders do you hear them in their voices? 

People read and process information differently, but I find that I hear them in their voices, with accents and even follow their speaking rhythms and patterns.  Those talks are particularly meaningful to me. 

Of course there are plenty that I don't recognize the person's name and so I just read the words in my own voice.  I can still get positive messages out of them but the better I know the voice and the person, the more powerful the message can be. 

How do we get to know the voice of the Lord? 

By learning of Him. 

By studying His words.  

Sister Michelle Craig counseled, "As you use your agency to carve out time every day to draw close to God’s voice, especially in the Book of Mormon, over time His voice will become clearer and more familiar to you."

By listening to His Spirit. 

By seeking to reflect His love and His words to others.  

I wonder if a great part of the peace He promises us is our ability to learn to say with confidence, "I know that voice.  And I trust it.  All is well, or at least it will be eventually."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Never Fall Away

Image
  In Alma chapter 23, the sons of Mosiah preached to the Lamanites. The law was declared that the word of God could not be obstructed. Note that the law did NOT say that everyone had to embrace and follow it, but their synagogues and temples and homes should be open to them. And then in verse six, something stuck out to me. Something that applies to our day. “They were converted unto the Lord and never did fall away.” NEVER DID FALL AWAY?? That sounds  like an important need in our day.   My immediate question was HOW?  So I read more closely. Verse 7: “For they became a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more, neither against any of their brethren.”  They became a righteous people. They did lay down the weapons of their rebellion. They did not fight against God. They did not fight against their brethren. So what does that mean for us?  BECOME a righteous people.  Be willi
Read more

Trust

Image
  As I was riding a bike down the former train route along the Idaho-Montana border, I had hours to quietly reflect and appreciate the lush mountain landscape extending around me as far as I could see.   I was in a prayerful state, open to the promptings of the Spirit.   At one point I came to the edge of a meadow and needed to sit and rest for a bit.   There I found a lovely rustic bench made from a tree right there in the forest.  And it occurred to me how often the things we need are right there in our lives around us. The people, the resources, our talents and gifts. Psalm 34:8 lovingly promises “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him”. He will provide.   And as we learn to recognize that help, we will become more grateful and happy. 
Read more

Seeing

Image
  Even after a full semester, the young 7th grader, who I will call Anna, didn’t seem to have any friends. She said didn’t mind and felt anxious around people.   I rotated her through groups and she would participate as directed but rarely smiled, although she didn’t seem particularly sad or distraught either.   More of an acceptance that this was her life. She didn’t ever talk back or ask questions but she also didn’t complete assignments quite right.  Her other teachers also said that she didn’t follow directions well.   I was patient.  Building trust.  With her and within our classroom.  This had to be a safe place to share the hard parts. And two months ago she finally told me.  She couldn’t see the board.   As in she couldn’t read it without getting within 6 inches of the board! I immediately emailed our school nurse who gave her a screening.  When I asked Anna she said that the test was fine. But the troubles persisted and finally I reached out to her mom and expla
Read more