“Base 3… base 3…. Over.”
My dad’s bass voice boomed through the kitchen from the CB unit perched on the small telephone table in the corner.
My mom left her vigil at her large stock pot on the stove, leaving it to marry its flavours between slow and steady stirs with a large Tupperware ladle she’d earned from one of her many Tupperware parties through the early years.
Perching herself on this soft red, cushioned telephone table bench beside the CB unit, she pressed the side of the hand held speaker nestled perfectly in her petite hand and replied matter-of-factly:
“Unit 9, this is base 3.”
The conversations were usually short and to the point, mostly for information.
“I need a driver to take the Louisville from one pit to the other south of Grunthal.” Came my dad’s voice clearly through the speakers.
Mom glanced at her simmering pot of soup, and replied:
“I’ll just turn down the soup… I’ll be there in about 10 minutes.”
This was a regular part of everyday life in my teenage years when my dad owned his gravel business. Cell phones were not even a thought in the tech world at this time. but the CB world of the day was a high-tech magic of its own compared to the home phones in the 70s.
Communication was very important to the success of the business. I never doubted it was my dad’s voice every time I would hear it echoing through the kitchen from its CB perch. I had heard his familiar voice for many years by now…. I knew it. My mom would leave whatever she was doing to answer my dad’s voice.
It was important for the success of the business to go as smoothly as possible.
The remembrance of this regular scene in my life reminded me of the importance of knowing our Heavenly father’s voice.
The closer we grow to Him the more often we will grow to recognize His voice in our lives.
My mom would stop what she was doing in order to give her full attention to my dad’s message, and left behind other tasks to respond to various requests.
Leaving behind what we may be doing at the moment in our lives to take heed to our Heavenly father’s voice, and possible different direction, goes against what we may want to keep pursuing in our life’s path.
Recognizing His voice in our lives daily and responding to His direction will always lead us in the direction He has for us…. His perfect plan for our lives, whether it makes sense to leave a “simmering pot on the stove” or not.
Sometimes He may ask us to leave something behind for a time, or perhaps for good. But know that His request to redirect is never to hurt us, but because He loves us so incredibly much and sees things we cannot see.
His communication to us and our response to Him is also very vital to any hope of success in our lives.
Today as I reflect, I will find Hope in His direction for my life as I recognize His voice more clearly each day,
As I remember the days of….
“Unit 9…Base 3…Over”
In the Moment 