When I was growing up, our parish priest loved telling this joke about asking God for signs:
There was a huge flood in a village. One man said to everyone as the villiagers evacuated, “I’ll stay! God will save me!”
The flood got higher, and a boat came. The man in the boat said, “Come on mate, get in!” “No” replied the man. “God will save me!”
The flood got very high now and the man had to stand on the roof of his house. A helicopter soon came and offered him help. “No, God will save me!” he said.
Eventually the man drowned. He arrived at the gates of heaven and said to God, “Why didn’t you save me?”
God replied, “For goodness sake! I sent a warning, a boat, and then a helicopter. What more did you want?!”
We humans sure are a funny bunch. We ask for signs, and we get them. They exist all around us. We are provided answers to our prayers, strategically wrapped up and hand-delivered with a big shiny bow. But here’s the issue. We’re so busy looking for what we want, we miss receiving the answer we need. Yep. That one. Right there. The one under our stubborn noses. The one that makes us say, “No. Please, no. Not THAT!”
I’ll never forget the wise words spoken by a friend during a challenging time I was having. I was refusing to heed the signs all around me in letting go of an outcome I thought I wanted. Circumstance after circumstance offered me the opportunity to free myself from the prison house of pain I had created. But I was determined to get my own misguided way, ignoring the warning, the lifeboat, and the helicopter that was graciously offered – all of which held the opportunity to create a better life. Drowning in the flood of my own emotions, I was bitter and complaining. My very patient friend (lucky for me – I couldn’t even stand myself at that point) said, “Diane, apparently God needs to hit you over the head with a 2×4 to get your attention.” And then I realized I was just like the man waiting for God to save him from the flood. Not only had I dismissed the warning, the boat, and the helicopter, but the entire lesson I had to learn about acceptance.
What is it that you’re looking for, Friend? What are you trying to satisfy with your searching, scrolling, and yearning? Has Google given you the answer? Facebook? Maybe you found it on TikTok? I know when I’m caught in doomscrolling mode, I’m often looking for connection, meaning, or a purpose, and sometimes I just need a good laugh to break up the boredom of the day. But let’s consider that it might be time to put down the phone for a bit, or to close the laptop for a while. Maybe it’s time to heed the warning signs that we’re dealing with an epidemic of loneliness, despite the fact that we appear more connected than ever. What about interacting with some humans IRL? (In Real Life for those of us who are acronym challenged)
Perhaps the answers you seek will come to you on a walk, or at lunch with a friend. Maybe while you’re out and about running errands, a person will say something that speaks to you in an unexpected or surprising way. It’s likely that none of these things will be the sign you seek, but how will you know unless you choose to get in the boat?
I hope you’ll check back in to let me know what signs you noticed out there in the world.
Shine on,
Diane
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