In her later years, as a widow, Mother had a friend. It's still really hard to call him a boyfriend, that's just too weird. Funny how we think our parents aren't really human. They're parents for cryin out loud, they don't have feelings like the rest of us.
Anyway, we called him Mr. Bill, which is even weirder because Dad's name was Bill......sigh. Mr. Bill was quite a character. He was a retired truck driver and had driven all over these United States for many years. He drove an old Lincoln Continental that was at least four blocks long.
He and Mother would jump in that boat and go for road trips. These weren't your typical Sunday drive kind of road trips, oh no, these were freaking cross country safaris that might take weeks to complete.
Mother would always talk about how Mr. Bill would read all the road signs to her. Usually a route number or a certain city had a most entertaining story to go along with it. She didn't seem to mind, she liked to travel and Mr. Bill still liked to drive......and read the signs.
There are some other signs we need to read. These aren't the kind hanging above the freeway or on a bill board, but, if we are paying attention, they can be just as bold.
These are the signs that are given to us by God. Most of the time we aren't paying attention, but they are there.
Just the other day I asked for a sign. This isn't the first time I've done this. I seem to ask for them quite a bit. Every time I do, I get one. I don't ask for the answer, just the sign. Maybe that's why I get a quicker response. I'm not asking for yes, no or wait, just conformation that I've been heard. Sometimes that is enough, just to know that I am not alone.
I asked for a big sign.....actually I asked for a huge one. The very next day, it was there and yes, it was huge.
Did this solve all my problems at present? No. Will I still have a struggle? Probably. Will the rest of my days be carefree and happy go lucky? I don't know, most of that is not up to God, it's up to me. That's about as close as I can come to defining free will.
Should we ask for signs? I think so, after all, we are only human. How many times do our children ask us for something, even when we have told them no for the umpteenth time? Are we not children of God? The story of Gideon tells us, even after he had the privilege of sitting and talking with an angel, he asked many times in a row for a sign and got one each time. That tells me God is patient.
Is there some kind of magic formula for receiving signs? Maybe, but I wouldn't call it magic. Jesus said we have to believe that we will get it, before we ask.
Believe and have faith and don't forget to pay attention.
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