A Moment of Choice

Anna T., Illinois, USA

One cold winter morning in Wisconsin, as I was running late to early morning seminary, I came across a car that was stopped in the middle of the road. In a rush, I waited impatiently for the car to move. With the car only a few yards from the stop sign, I assumed that the driver had stopped prematurely. When the car continued not to move I passed the car and went on to the church building a few blocks away.

As I drove I wondered why the car stopped in such a strange place. I thought that perhaps the person was lost, but that didn’t feel right. It occurred to me that maybe they were having car troubles. I was running late and rationalized that someone else would surely help them. To this day I could not tell you why I was so anxious not to be late, but I can tell you, that in the moment I felt so rushed, I failed to recognize the promptings of the Spirit to stop and help that driver. It was small, nothing more than a brief thought. Seminary was a good place to be going. However, there was a choice that would have been better.

On my way home from seminary I once again was confronted by the same car sitting exactly where I had left it. This time I stopped. I got out of my car, and I looked at the driver. I was shocked and disappointed in myself for not listening to inspiration. In the driver’s seat of that car was an elderly woman. My heart ached like it never had before as I realized the severity of that one missed moment. I could have offered to help her push her car to the side, helped her find a tow truck, or offered to let her sit in the warmth of the church building while we figured our what to do with her car. In the end someone else had already helped her find a tow truck that was due to be there any moment.

There are often times I reflect on the moment that I was too rushed to recognize that opportunity to help one of my fellow sisters. The lesson was clear and as vivid today as it was on that early winter morning.

There are times in all of our lives when we fail to listen to the promptings of the Spirit. Sometimes we find ourselves distracted by things of the world, and sometimes we choose a good choice instead of the better choice. We cannot change the choices we have made in the past. What we can do is change what we do in our next moment of decision. The promptings of the Spirit are not always as forceful as the sound of thunder, they are not always as clear as the scriptures we read or the counsel of the prophets, but often these promptings come as small whispers of encouragement or seemingly inconsequential thoughts. There is nothing more disappointing than the knowledge that our selfish choice has cost us an opportunity to help one of our Heavenly Father’s children. It was a lesson that was painful and one I will not forget.