When your Heart pulls… Just follow.

“As the route of your life path and your winks from God begin to emerge—like a rainbow out of the mists of your mind—you will be struck by the message of hope that it holds for you.” ~Squire Rushnell

There are so many times that my heart sends me a little message and other times it screams; “ Get up, move, you are needed for just this thing.”  I can always look back and realize why but I  don’t always know in advance.  I have learned over the years when my heart pulls, I just need to follow.

As of late I am feeling a tug in my spirit for more of what God wants for me and all the things he wants are not really big things. I think there are sometimes little points of obedience  that nudge or a  knowing that we are to do something and we are not always sure WHAT!

So I was sitting at my desk minding my business when I got the strongest feeling that I needed to stop shopping online for some retro bowls and get up and go to The Summer House Market. I know weird, I know you are thinking, be for real Karen you are just missing shopping since the lock down.  That is true but this was more, it was a tug on my heart and I followed.  I did not know why but I did after I had a “chance” encounter with  a woman just like me almost 2 years ago needing hope.

Let me backtrack first!!  I was sitting in a wicker back lounge chair on a cruise that was usually with my sweet husband. He was not there and no longer was he anywhere. I was trying to figure out where my life was and where it was going and how it was going without him. It was our attempt at having an away time with my littles and Britt. It was my very first time cruising without him in our usual Bahama style.  I was lost. I could not see what life would look like without him but I did trust that God would lighten my path.

A sweet lady overheard me talking on the phone and said kindly to me, “I am sorry to eavesdrop but did you say you just lost your husband?” Of course I told her through misty eyes and a throat full and about to explode that I had just lost my husband a few weeks ago.  She must have had a tug on her heart and told me that she too had lost her husband 3 months ago and wanted me to know that I was going to be okay and that life would be bright again and full again. She wanted me to see that she had another friend that was further along the path and that she was living a full life as well.  I never forgot that and I knew it was not chance, it was God sending me a little wink to let me know that my future was bright and full. How I felt in that moment was sad but grateful for a glimpse of a better day ahead.

And more than that feeling of hope was the feeling of gratitude that God orchestrates these things for our benefit.

So back to the store!! I am talking and a sweet lady with a bright yellow dress is walking around looking for a starfish dish and we are all doing our best to social distance. ( if you are reading this blog in the future we will need to explain)  This sweet lady that I now know is Tracy says to me,”I didn’t mean to eavesdrop but did you say you were in Real Estate?”  She then shared with me that her sweet husband had very recently passed away from cancer and it was quick like my Hugh’s was.   She had the sweetest face and spirit and her young son was close by her side. 

Now I know why God tugged at my heart. I am glad I listened. I was able to look in her sad eyes and tell her that I know it is so hard right now and it is so painful  to make any sense of it all. I promised her that life does get better and her heart will heal.  I was so thankful to return the God wink to this sweet soul and look forward to spending more time sharing with her in the future.

All of our nudges are not for big things, they are for little things that may make a big impact at just the right time in the life of another. I am so thankful that I am living in a world full of gentle nudges and heart pulls that make this life one so rich in adventure and love.