The abilities of animals to know what they need to survive is astonishing.  An owl uses sonar to sense a mouse underneath the snow. An Emperor moth can smell a female four miles away. The elephants in Sri Lanka knew to head for higher ground before the earthquake that caused a tsunami fifteen years ago. I doubt that even if we could cross the language barrier between species, a salmon swimming upstream would have trouble describing how he knew which direction to go. Probably an egret couldn't verbalize instructions about how and when to construct a nest. 

 

Fortunately, their fellow animals don't seem to insist on a strategic plan.When I had chickens I loved to watch while our Silkie hen showed her chicks how to scratch and preen. They never talked back, or challenged her knowledge. They believed her.

 

I have long had a strong interest in women's intuition. There are remarkable instances of women who simply knew something they could neither explain nor justify. But when they acted on it, their families or marriages were protected. 

 

One woman told me she knew that something was wrong with her pregnancy. She told the midwife, who believed her but could find nothing. After the baby was born, the pediatrician did a more thorough exam, repeating it a few weeks later. She found an irregularity in the baby's heart, which was irreparable. But the perception helped my friend and her family to grieve, knowing that God was caring for this baby who would transition to heaven before his first birthday.  

 

Many people have told me that they knew who they would marry, long before they had any logical way of coming to that conclusion. This is as critical as the ability to smell a gas leak, or see a tear in the corner of your husband's eyes. It is not surprising, although it is miraculous, that we are gifted with such information. 

 

Perhaps you yourself have a story for me about a time your perception guided you wisely. I promise to believe you.