As I have worked on today’s column, I have bounced all over the place. To be honest, two articles were begun, worked on at length, and then discarded. Neither one “felt right,” at least for this week’s column.

Although I don’t know exactly what this means, I have learned that if it doesn’t “feel right,” it is wise to keep pondering, working, and praying about the words I type until they do feel right. In so doing, I increase my chances of sharing something of worth with a friend — though we may have never met on this earth — through Meridian magazine.

Often, my life mimics the writing of this column: I may be in the middle of something of utmost importance (or so I think) when the feeling comes that I need to shift gears. That might mean changing priorities or re-focusing; sometimes it means getting down on my knees to pray for more specific direction; other times it may mean that I am “barking up the wrong tree” and need to totally re-think something. Once it feels right, I can move forward.

To trust implicitly in Father’s direction would be the path of least resistance. That path, however, is not the one most of us always choose. Why is it that we are sometimes in such a hurry to get where we want to go that we fail to make sure we are even heading in the right direction? Inevitably, we hit a wall and must start over again — properly and according to the Spirit’s dictates.

With enough patience and with faith that the direction may come only one step at a time, we can relax inside — because it “feels right.” It feels right because we are turning it over to the perfectly capable hands of God, and listening for the Holy Spirit’s confirmation of each little choice along the way.

One of my favorite hymns, “Lead Kindly Light,” encapsulates the sense of trust needed in order for us to move steadily toward our Heavenly Father:

Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.

President Gordon B. Hinckley has told us: “The course of our lives is not determined by great, awesome decisions. Our direction is set by the little day-to-day choices which chart the track on which we run.”

Because it is necessary to move forward, (remember, even if we’re on the right track, we’ll get run over if we just sit there!) here are a few reminders on how to best hear and follow the guidance of the Spirit — so that it “feels right”:

• “Experience is the best teacher of discernment” (Elder Robert D.Hales). The ability to discern the Spirit is a learned ability. Don’t despair if you don’t recognize the whisperings. Just keep working at it. It will get easier to understand, just as learning a foreign language becomes easier with experience.
• “One step enough for me” — Work on discerning the next step, and stop worrying about the end result. If our rudder is straight in the water and we are heading in the right direction, we will not veer off course as long as we plot our course according to heavenly direction.
• “Pay attention to what the Lord requires of you and let the balance go” (Brigham Young). Priorities matter when following the Spirit!
• “Find some quiet time regularly to think deeply about where you are going and what you will need to do to get there” (Elder Russell M. Ballard). This is the opposite of, “The hurrier I go, the behinder I get.” Organize mentally, emotionally, spiritually, physically, intellectually, as well as possible.
• “When we seek inspiration to help make decisions, the Lord gives gentle promptings. These require us to think, to exercise faith, to work, to struggle at times, and to act” (Elder Richard G. Scott). Like most things in mortal experience, we not only have to know, we have to do. Thinking through, building faith muscles, working it out, struggling, doing something, builds within us the confidence to better understand the Spirit’s promptings.
• “Seldom does the whole answer to a decisively important matter or complex problem come all at once. More often, it comes a piece at a time, without the end in sight” (Elder Richard G. Scott). Patience and trust allow us to gratefully accept each little piece of information and inspiration as we are becoming better acquainted with the Holy Spirit’s manner of working with us individually.
• “Proper attitude in this crisis-dominated world is a priceless possession” (Elder Marvin J. Ashton). When we goof, block out the promptings, or fail to discern, a positive attitude will work wonders in keeping us on track and allowing us to do better next time.

Have there been times when we may have looked back with regret over one decision or another? There have for me. May there be a time when we are not properly in tune, failing to feel the promptings that come gently, thus “blowing it” with something said, felt, or done? Absolutely!

But we continue to learn. We continue to grow in understanding. The ability to discern and work at moving in the right direction blossoms a little here and a little there, as the Holy Spirit lovingly tries to teach and guide us.

We make progress one step at a time — or, for me today, one word at a time! Because, with work, prayer, and inspiration, “it feels right.”