Listening to that tiny voice

I try to get a walk in most days of the week, in part to continue the rehab of my back and hips from a significant whiplash injury suffered in 2010 and also because it's simply good for you.

I vary my routes to prevent boredom from curtailing my appetite for ambulation. One of them is simply heading out the back door, across the grassy play area and into the residential area east of the complex.

Typically, I cross St. Paul and walk north on the sidewalk to First Street and then head east for several blocks. And on an early May evening, as the north wind began to flex its muscles, I started that way again.

But as I reached St. Paul, a tiny voice told me to stay on this side of the street. I paused to activate the pedometer on my Smartphone, and as I started walking north toward First a powerful gust of wind roared down the street and snapped a large tree branch off at the corner of First and St. Paul.

The branch fell right onto the sidewalk where I would have been walking, and bounced into the front yard of the house at the corner.

I paused to calculate where I would have been had I taken my normal route and not listened to that little voice. Chances are I would have been next to that tree when the branch snapped.

Do you listen to that little voice within you when it speaks? Those who are Catholic may call it their guardian angel. Others may have different explanations.

I know it's served me well countless times in my life, and this was one such occasion.