If You Are Looking For A Sign, This Is It

It is wonderful what you can do when you have to. - C. S. Lewis

Three years ago this month, I was at a crossroads.  I was facing one of the biggest decisions of my life, and I didn't know which path to choose.  I began to pray for a sign from God, mostly out of desperation and without any real hope of finding one.  

I got the sign that I was asking for, by the way.  It came in a miraculous-can't-be-explained kind of way.  But despite the miraculous nature of the sign I'd prayed for, I then found myself struggling to believe it.  

This morning, I felt a bit inspired to share the story a bit differently--so here's my attempt at a poem:   

I prayed for a sign to help me decide which way to go. 
And God, in God's infinite capacity for humor
Painted a really big one, and stuck it in a church
Six thousand miles from where I first prayed--waiting to be found.  

And I did find it.  After boarding a plane, flying for hours
Booking a cottage, renting a car, traveling for miles,
and then, after a change of plans, deciding to visit a small town
in the South of England where I walked into the church
And saw it there... and doubted.  

One of the most important lessons I've learned over the years is that God is constantly doing miraculous things all around us.  There are signs and wonders everywhere.  God is constantly painting signs.  

But at some point, we have to take a step.  We have to decide which direction to take and set out on our journey with faith and (dare I say it) hope.  

Maria Goff recently wrote this great line, which I copied down and find so appropriate here:  

Here's the question I think God asks all of us at some point:  "What's your next step?  None of us know what God might do next, but we get to decide what we'll do next. 

If you are trying to determine your next steps...  If you are standing at a crossroads, wondering which path to take...  If you are looking for a sign to show you the way... 

First, open your eyes.  Look around you with the intention of truly seeing.  Open your mind and your heart, and let go of all of the distractions and obstacles that have kept you from seeing signs in the past.  

And then be prepared to move.  You get to decide whether or not you will not only find inspiration in God's ever-present signs but also if you will use that inspiration to get you going where you are meant to go.  

When you do move, may you do so with a renewed sense of purpose, and confidence that God will go before you, and indeed is already there awaiting you in your future.  

And may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and always.  Amen.