Susan Merrill

Do you ever hear that voice inside you that says, “something isn’t right here”?  Did you act on it or ignore it?  A year ago, that little voice would not quit whispering to me about one of my children.  I finally gave in and took her to the doctor.  He acknowledged my suspicion was a possibility but a long shot.  He did the blood work more as a favor to me.  Two days later, I got the call to take her to a specialist immediately.  It saved her life. 

Women, in particular, have a unique discernment referred to as “women’s intuition.” In her new book , 30 Ways in 30 Days to Save Your Family author Rebecca Hagelin advises the following:

“As I talk to parents (especially mothers) in my own community and around the country, I have come to realize that many of us find ourselves frustrated by an ongoing conflict: we experience an intangible discernment about people and situations but don’t always know how to act on it.

I think if we are honest with each other, one problem is that we fear the possibility of our instincts being incorrect and the actions we take looked upon by other parents as overreacting, overbearing, and overreaching. This fear ultimately causes many of us to remain silent – ignoring our instincts and disregarding our intuition as a reliable source of decision-making and parenting.

Society certainly does not help to convince us that our instincts are reliable. We’re constantly told that we aren’t smart enough or don’t have the right skills to understand and raise our children. We are also accused of being “over-protective” and “closed-minded” or “judgmental.”  Name-calling has always been an effective method for silencing people.

Another reason we often hesitate to take action is because it can lead to conflict with our children – especially our teens.  If your mother’s intuition gives you concern about one of your kids’ friends, for instance, and you begin to delve deeper into the situation, your son or daughter may feel offended. If we already lack faith in our intuition in the first place, we tend to back away from acting on it in any way that would lead to potential parent-child conflict.

But ask yourself this question: How many times have you as a parent had a stomach suddenly filled with knots or a flash of doubt go through your mind about an issue, parent, or situation and later wished you had acted on that feeling? Likely, at least a few examples come to mind. Hindsight, of course, is always 20/20. Listen to that voice inside of you that says, “something isn’t right here” and then act on it. As a parent, you are the first and last line of defense for your children. And as the saying goes, “Better safe, than sorry.”

Regardless of what you may call it, undeniably women, in particular, possess a unique and mysterious kind of discernment we often refer to as “women’s intuition.” It may be nearly impossible to define, but I think each of us can remember a specific time when we experienced a feeling of warning or discomfort that, upon reflection, could only be described as our intuition. And ladies, when we become mothers, the ability to discern situations grows even sharper. I believe that the Lord gives parents the instinct to protect our children. It can be trusted, and it should not be ignored. It is something God gave you in abundance as a mother, and as mysterious as it is, it is very real.

Our mother’s intuition is something that we need to come to trust and is an essential tool we must use to protect our children.  As mothers, we also have a need to understand, and connect with, our kids unlike anybody else.  We should feel confident in acting on the warnings we experience form this connection.”

Used with permission from the book, 30 Ways in 30 Days to Save Your Family, by Rebecca Hagelin. Visit http://www.howtosaveyourfamily.com/  to buy Hagelin’s book or to sign up for her free weekly e-newsletter.