Marriage Moats
Published: Thu, 06/24/10
| Marriage Moats | Caring for Marriage |
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"Perception is nothing more than the thought or speech of angels who are with a person." Heavenly Secrets 5228
I have been asking wives for a long time to tell me about their perception. Their stories are amazing. Well, perhaps no more amazing than an owl's awareness of a lemming rustling under the snow, or an echolating dolphin who can detect fish the size of a coin 70 yards away. Catfish are rumored to be able to predict earthquakes days in advance, and using an infra-red sensor under its leg, the jewel beetle can sense a fire 50 miles away. Hawks can scan the earth from a height of 15,000 feet looking for rodents, then dive at 100mph while still keeping their target in complete focus.
Women can sense things too... feelings that arrive as subtly as a scent or a low frequency sound.
One friend, who wasn't feeling particularly perceptive the day I called told me about the nudge she felt to put on a Christmas play in her rural Canadian town. She wanted the children to know that Christmas is not simply an occasion for toy acquisition and cookies. She gathered the local boys and girls, all 17 of them, in the town hall and began telling them about the birth of Jesus. Casting did not go well. There was embarrassment, teasing and hair pulling, and although she could coax kids into being Mary and wise men, not a single boy would touch the part of Joseph.
Discouraged, she sent them all home, and had a talk with God.
One friend, who wasn't feeling particularly perceptive the day I called told me about the nudge she felt to put on a Christmas play in her rural Canadian town. She wanted the children to know that Christmas is not simply an occasion for toy acquisition and cookies. She gathered the local boys and girls, all 17 of them, in the town hall and began telling them about the birth of Jesus. Casting did not go well. There was embarrassment, teasing and hair pulling, and although she could coax kids into being Mary and wise men, not a single boy would touch the part of Joseph.
Discouraged, she sent them all home, and had a talk with God.
"If you want me to do this, you are going to have to help. Send me a sign of who to ask to be Joseph!"
Mentally she went through the list of all the males within a square mile, not a long list, and the one that blinked on her internal geiger counter was the new bartender.
This must be a mistake.
She decided to take a more proactive elimination test, by walking the streets back and forth and looking for a divine signal.
Things were quiet but as she passed the bar, the newcomer was outside smoking and greeted her amiably as she walked by.
"Ok! Ok! Lord! I will go to the bar, where I feel completely out of place and awkward, and ask this man that I barely know if he will be Joseph in my play. Ok, I will do it, right after my volunteer shift at the library."
As she sat behind the desk that evening, the bartender walked in. She was, well shocked.
"I don't recall ever seeing you at the library before," she mentioned.
"I know, I just had a feeling I should get a library card."
Taking a breath she launched into her speech about surely he believed in the real meaning of the Christmas story and how she desperately wanted to create it for the children of the town and even though he did not have kids would he please be Joseph in her play?
He paused.
"Yes, I will."
The next rehearsal went like a dream. The kids were cooperative, all wanting to be seen in the scene with the bartender, so she modified the script to have Joseph in more places than he actually is. The play came together beautifully, and the parents went home satisfied.
She approached the bartender afterward and thanked him for his part.
"No, it's me who needs to thank you. You see I was never allowed to be in the Christmas play when I was a kid, because I stuttered."