My New Room

This is a story of a vivid memory from my childhood that provided a valuable lesson about Faith and listening to the Spirit.  This story is very personal and a little bit graphic in nature but it provided for me a profound example of the importance of being worthy of, recognizing and then heeding the promptings of the Spirit.  I ask for your understanding and a little leeway as I relate it here.

When I was a young boy about 10 years old, my father has just finished building me a new bedroom in the basement of our home.   It was a small bedroom with just enough room for a closet, a small built in dresser with a desk, and my bunk beds.  Having a sister 13 months older and a sister 13 months younger as well as 3 other siblings it was the first time I had ever had a room to myself and I was one happy boy.

I had finished moving all of my "stuff" into the drawers, shelves and closet and was just enjoying having my own space.  I was playing some sort of old west cowboys and robbers game and would climb on the top bunk and jump off to escape.  I was eventually caught by the sheriff and sentenced to hang.

As I was playing, I had a small stout cord that would serve for a rope and I measured it carefully with enough slack that I could jump from the top bunk and still have enough slack that I wouldn’t get hurt.  I climbed on the top bunk and put the cord around my neck and just as I was about to jump, my dad burst into my room.

Dad saw what was happening and immediately took the rope and scolded me severely and made sure I understood in no uncertain terms, that this was not a smart thing to do.  He actually made me feel a bit angry and hurt that he didn’t realize I was smart enough to measure the rope and that I had everything under control so I would be safe (and that I was just playing).

The real lesson related to this event occurred some 40 years later when I was approximately 50 years old as I overheard my father relating this event while talking with another family member  ….   I had never heard his side of the story previously.

Dad said he had been out mowing the lawn when he felt an impression to go check on me.  At first, he figured he would just finish up the back yard and then come check on me when he immediately felt the impression … NOW!!! …  He immediately shut the mower down and said he almost ran into the house and downstairs then into my room where he found me playing with the rope. 

After hearing his account of the event, there was no question in my mind that I was saved from something severe that day in my youth by a father who recognized and acted on the promptings of the Spirit.  I now know that had my father not acted on that prompting, something drastic would have occurred that day.  I shudder to think what could have happened but I do know I was saved that day by a loving Father-in-Heaven and a righteous Earthly Father who heard and acted upon the prompting of the Spirit.

I hope that I am able to live a life where I can be worthy of the Spirit and have enough faith to act on its promptings.