The Nudge

I have a message on my phone. I missed a call. I call voice mail to see who it is. It is a friend from church. They are calling me because they had a "nudge" to do so. They just wanted to be sure that I was ok.

Nudge
Pronunciation: n&j
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): nudged; nudg·ing
Etymology: origin unknown
1 : to touch or push gently; especially : to seek the attention of by a push of the elbow
2 : to prod lightly : urge into action

I would define a nudge this way:
3 : A gentle feeling, thought or sensation that seems to be asking you to do something.

Do you ever have nudges? I get them sometimes, and I always act on them. I always act on them because one time I didn't.

I was 29. For some reason, or no reason, a young man from my youth group popped into my head. Although I had not been his youth director for 6 years and had not spoken to him since then, I had a nudge to call him. I didn't do it. I was too busy. You know, I was busy doing important things.

The next day came. Same nudge. Call Allen. Again, I didn't do it.
This went on for four days.

On the night of the fourth day, the phone rang late. It was Kenny. Another young man from my old youth group. He was calling to tell me that Allen had taken his life.

Ouch.

What do you do with that. I felt terrible. Part of me wanted to feel responsible. At any rate, I knew right then and there that I was never going to ignore a nudge again. I haven't either, and it usually turns out ok.

It sounds a little funny, but this is what I do. Say someone comes to mind for no reason. I seem to sense that there is a reason about it, a nudge. I call them up.

"Hi So and so, this is Jeff. How are you today."

Sometimes they are glad that I called. It seems timely. We talk, and I was glad to have "obeyed" the nudge.

Other times, my call seems unnecessary to them, so I just turn it into a friendly call.

"Hi So and so, this is Jeff. How are you today."
"Fine," they say.
"Well, I was just calling to tell you that I think you are great."
"Well, gee, thanks" they say.

Thats ok. In fact I believe it is better to take a moment to make a call and follow a nudge then to ignore it and wish later that I hadn't.

Sometimes if I think I have something to say to them, I will just tell them that I was thinking about them or praying for them and this thought came to my mind.

It usually works out pretty well. And when my call is unnecessary, I am still glad that I made it. In a world where we are so busy and so disconnected, a random phone call to someone is a good thing.

So dear friend, thanks for calling yesterday. I am ok. I think. I agree with, and celebrate your obedience to the nudge.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.