Have you ever gotten a weird message—maybe as an otherworldly whisper or a fleeting thought—and wondered, “Where did that come from?”
Did you brush it off and only later (minutes, hours, days, or years after) realize the implications?
How did that insight make you feel? Was the sensation warm and fuzzy, or were chills running up and down your spine?
My true story tells of how a voice from my past spoke to me in the oddest setting. When it happened, I simply decided that my brain was playing a little trick on me. Eventually, however, I learned that it was foretelling my future!
My Math Teacher’s Message
After a few weeks of working in my first corporate job, another person was hired as a trainee alongside me. Both learning the ropes in sales, we were in competition with one another. Therefore, while he was a friendly, attractive guy, I had no interest in establishing anything beyond a pleasant coworker relationship with him.
Moreover, at 22, I was a new college graduate, excited to be on my own. I wanted to prove to myself that I could move to a big city and succeed in business. I would not be jeopardizing my career for an office romance!
That said, I looked at him one day and thought, “He’s cute, but I’d never marry him.”
While wondering why on earth had the word marry popped into my head, I was simultaneously transported back in time to middle school. My physical body remained in the office, but my spirit was seated at my desk in “Mrs. Smith’s” math class.
Seasoned and focused on covering the planned material, Mrs. Smith never wasted time on off-topic subjects. On that day, if I am remembering correctly, the context of her highly unusual commentary was related to a lesson on probability.
In any case, Mrs. Smith surprised everyone when she blurted out, “Don’t ever say you’re not going to marry someone. If you do, that’s just who you’ll end up with. That’s what happened with my husband. I said, ‘I’d never marry him,’ and we’ve been together [some number of] years!”
She smiled, but her audience of 13-year-olds didn’t quite know how to react. Some nervous giggles broke out in response, but I felt sad for Mrs. Smith. Was she saying she had regrets? Had she settled for Mr. Smith?
Absorbing her words, I silently vowed to guard any thoughts about marrying anyone—as if my future happiness depended on it. With that, I happened to glance over at a boy sitting across the aisle from me.
Although he was quite smart, “Harry” had unfortunately begun to derail his education by experimenting with mind-altering substances. Clearly, he was high on something. Mrs. Smith might have caught on had Harry not been shielded from her in the back row. She could not, for instance, see that he was repeatedly launching a long, thin piece of lead from his mechanical pencil (a sophisticated writing instrument in those days) toward the ceiling. His objective was to make it stick in the acoustical tile.
Momentarily mesmerized by Harry’s trippy amusement, I then shuddered while shaking off the idea of “I’d never marry him.” (Thankfully, the next day, Mrs. Smith granted my request to move closer to her for better concentration!)
After the flashback, which probably lasted five seconds in real time, I mentally returned to my physical body. The phones were ringing, and customers needed assistance, so I shrugged off the strange experience and got back to work.
A Lesson on Probability
I didn’t think of that incident again until about two years later, just after my husband (the same man I said I’d never marry but now cannot imagine life without) and I were engaged.
Was Mrs. Smith right? Had telling myself that I’d never marry him sealed the deal? Or did the notion come out of nowhere?
What are the odds that the thought was a mere coincidence versus a genuine premonition?
To be honest, I love idea of an otherworldly spirt—an angel, say, with a sense of humor—whispering in my ear, hinting of what my future would hold!
So … have you heard any strange whispers lately? Are you paying attention to them?
Sallie W. Boyles, a.k.a. Write Lady
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