Signs

  All roads have signs giving information on a whole host of travel related issues and options. Actually signs are designed to assist us, to help us as we move along such as slow down, curve ahead; or men working or they tell us the distance to our 'destination' or next pit stop. Some tell us of the sleeping, food or fuel locations ahead and some give us information about the areas such as parks or lakes. Regardless of the information, signs are there to assist us. What other signs do we see on our journey? Do we heed the signs of personal problems that we may face or that we need to face? Or do we blithely continue on regardless of what the signs may be telling us?

  We don't need to be continuing our journey in a guarded fashion but we also shouldn't be ignorant of what we are seeing. How do signs make you feel? Wary? Realizing the need to prepare? Anxious? Signs always evoke emotions and many times emotions direct our thinking and actions... good and bad. When you see thunderclouds in the distance, you prepare for this by having rain equipment ready when/if bad weather strikes. Are we prepared for any spiritual storms? These also come, but there are always signs indicating upcoming issues. Scripture tells us to be aware of what is happening around us so we aren't caught unprepared.

  The one emotion signs shouldn't evoke is fear. Signs are always provided in advance of any upcoming issue we will need to face. What we should be doing is continue confidently and then act when and if there is need. The same mindset should exist in all the areas of our lives since signs are present in our lives daily. Sometimes the signs tells us to keep moving, sometimes they warn us of upcoming problems and that we need to proceed with caution. Sometimes signs alert us to what is also on our path. The point is that signs are information that we can use to determine what we want to do, or should do.

  Typically most of us are quite facile with the obvious signs - the problems come when we ignore the spiritual, psychological, intellectual, etc. signs that tell us who we are and how we go about being who we are. These signs are critical and we honestly can't say we aren't 'warned', that the signs weren't there. They are. Part of heeding signs is to listen to ourselves. I don't think I've ever heard anyone decry the fact that they prepared but nothing 'happened'. Perhaps it did. And perhaps it was the preparation, the heeding of the signs that mitigated the problem.

...but, what do you think?