Today I saw a picture of a whisker. Another word for whiskers is vibrissae, an old Latin word meaning "to shake" or "to vibrate". Most of us know that whiskers have sensors at their tips so help the owner guage the size of a tight enclosure they are thinking of negotiating or locate objects nearby. Whiskers are sensitive to even the slightest changes in airflow so even in the dark they can indicate the presence of another, such as of an enemy. There are also sensors at the base of the whiskers to help the animal guage its body position and balance. Something I had never contemplated is that whiskers can express mood; fanned out whiskers indicate calmness whilst flattened whiskers might indicate anxiety or fear. Whiskers are not necessarily very noticeable and yet they are so significant in information giving, protection and well-being. Can you see a correlation with the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is not a visible entity but you can see the results of His presence. He teaches us (see John 14:26), helps us in our weaknesses (see Romans 8:26), teaches us beautiful attributes of love (see Galatians 5:22-23), can reside in us constantly (see 1 Corinthians 6:19) and is a gift for us if we choose to follow God's ways instead of our own ways and recognise Jesus as saving us from our state of separation from God (see Acts 2:38).
