Signs

In early September, school had begun for the year, yet we were still in a heat wave. Though entirely too hot to be outdoors one afternoon, Ryan, 6, ran to me with abandoned enthusiasm and grinned, “It’s going to be Fall! It’s going to be Fall!”

He handed me a yellowed leaf he’d just found on the ground and offered, “See, when the leaves change colors and they fall, it’s going to be Fall!”

I stopped myself from suggesting the leaf fell because it died due to the extreme heat and lack of rain. Even though the air didn’t feel Autumnal in the least, Ryan correctly interpreted his find. He had seen a sign, and he believed its indication. Fall was coming.

Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him, asked that (Jesus) would show them a sign from heaven. (Jesus) answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. Matthew 16:1-3 NKJ

I catch myself asking God for signs regarding this and that, regarding His care for me. I should imitate Ryan’s example and with the same passion hold Ryan up in the air exclaiming, “God loves me! God loves me!” being unceasingly grateful for him and all the daily miracles around me. The religious leaders were testing Jesus for miracles and wonders to be performed in a way they wanted miracles and wonders. I searched for the Greek definition of “signs” and “times,” and if I may substitute, a portion of the above passage could read:

“You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the miracles and wonders of this short while.”

Faith is feeling more to me like a rock being chiseled into a sculpture: The deeper the cuts and the grooves, the deeper the faith. Shallow faith would provide a slippery slope for untethered emotions, while faith for the long haul finds its resting place in the crevices formed from trust, a place from which one cannot easily be shaken. God’s Word tells me that “no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9

I may not experience the exact miracles I’d like to see in “in this short while,” but I can remember to discern the signs I’m given. I will look for the good things from God, expecting His eventual goodness rather than eventual calamity. The signs I am privileged to see along the way will point me to Him and to His eternal plan, and when I see a yellowed leaf on the ground, though I still be in the longest heat wave of the century, I will know that Fall is coming.