Lent 5: Being Neighborly

Last night was the egg hunt at church, which started with a "picnic" in the gym. All the families were spread out on blankets with food--well, let me clarify--the parents were on blankets with copious amounts of food (trying to stuff the kiddos before the candy onslaught) while the kids ran free like they had been caged for the last 48 hours. It was loads of fun.

There was a single dad (I'll call him TM for Tall Man) there with his 6 year old daughter. He'd left the three younger children at home with his parents. He had no food. I don't know the circumstances, but I feel fairly confident he didn't know he was supposed to bring anything. Whatever the situation, we invited him to share our meal with us. I had made some hummus, cut up some fresh carrots and strawberries, and brought along some crackers. Nothing fancy by any means, but there was plenty for us to share with our neighbor (especially since my 3 year old was more interested in running around than eating).

Anyway, my husband and I engaged our dinner guest in conversation--typical stuff--how long have you been in town? what do you spend your time doing? how long have you been coming to the church? how old are your kids? where are they in school?--pretty boring stuff. As we got deeper into conversation, my intuition began to nudge something in me to be careful about what I shared with this person, so I kept the chit chat focused on him. And like I said, my husband was there--he can talk to anybody about anything for as long as needed. So I let him lead the interaction for a while.

After hunting eggs, TM and his daughter (who hunted in a different age category than my son) appeared again to open eggs and find out what treats and treasures were inside. I got another twinge of that icky/something's not quite right with this guy feeling. I couldn't put my finger on it, so I wanted to share my gut reaction with someone on staff at the church. When I told the Children's Director that something in my intuition had an uneasy feeling about TM, she said I was about the fourth woman to say something to her that night. "Aha!" I thought. "Justification! I'm not the only one feeling creeped out."

Later, another mother and I were talking and trying to figure out what it was exactly that made us so uncomfortable. She then began to back up and take the traditional, "I'm so bad...listen to me...being so judgmental...I shouldn't have said anything...etc." I couldn't believe what came out of my mouth in response:
"No you're not. You're listening to your intuition, which is the Holy Spirit talking to you. Good for you for listening."

Really? Was it the Holy Spirit? Or was I simply trying to justify my own actions and dragging the HS in the middle of my stuff?

I do think that the Holy Spirit stirs within me and speaks through my intuition. It's wise to listen to that inner voice. I wonder, though, if I'm only listening to that voice when it feels like danger is looming. What about the promptings I get daily to check on a friend or say a kind word or do a good deed or rest my own body? Isn't that the Holy Spirit, too? Wouldn't I be a better neighbor if I listened all the time, rather than selectively?

So I guess I have TM to thank...for showing up empty handed...for joining our picnic...for reminding me to listen to my intuition. Neighbors can teach me lots of things, if I'll slow down long enough to listen.