Sign?! What Sign?!

What2Say2Day? I was going to work this morning and watched a lady walk down the sidewalk as I was waiting for the traffic light to change. Of course I'm sitting in immense traffic so I wasn't planning to move for at least 2 or 3 light changes. As I watched this lady walk I looked ahead to see where she was going and noticed there was some construction going on which actually blocked the sidewalk. So, as she came across a sign that actually said "Construction Ahead Cross Here" and was meant to guide her to the other side of the road, she just walked past it.

As she continued down the path which brought her closer to the construction area she reached the part of the sidewalk that was blocked off by a red temporary fence. On the fence was a sign which said "Danger Do Not Enter". I watched in amazement as the lady stopped, read the sign, then stepped off the curb into oncoming traffic. As the car entering the lane swerved to miss her it honked its horn, she literally threw a fist in the air, seemingly irritated that she had been honked at.

Maybe it's just me, but I see examples of this type of obliviousness all the time. When I was in retail we used to joke that even if we had a 6-foot blinking pink neon sign saying we don't have a certain item, someone would still ask if we had that item in stock. People, and that includes me sometimes, don't see, pay attention to, notice, or adhere to signs. period.

Unfortunately the same lack of attentiveness is applied to spiritual signs. God gives us signs all day long, every day. God's signs are in the songs of the birds, the splash of the ocean, and the rustling of the trees. God's signs are in the smiles of those you pass by, the sincere greeting of a friend, the holding open of a door by a stranger and the thank you of a sales clerk. God's signs are in those who fight for justice and the fair treatment of all, in the homeless family sitting outdoors in the coldness of a winter night, in the cry of a child who hasn't eaten in a couple of days, and in the man who asks for spare change on the street corner.

God's signs are in everything and everyone. God's sign is creation itself. Let's begin to notice those signs, follow them, and adhere to them. Maybe we won't have a need to "step off the curb" of the path we're on if we can just acknowledge God's signs.