We are Living in a Time of Signs 

By Vickie G. Paver

Yesterday, my husband, Hal, and I went for a drive in the country. I know it sounds strange because we live in the country, but I'm talking about dirt roads that go through acres and acres of forest to the middle of nowhere! This November is the first in years that we have been able to drive on back country roads just for the pleasure of it. To have a better understanding of what kind of roads we are talking about I need to mention that these roads have signs on them stating, "NO WINTER MAINTENANCE." They really are more for snowmobiles and off road terrain vehicles.

However! At times we have taken "joy" rides in the middle of winter on some of the milder back woods roads. It is a guy thing, you know, "4 wheel drive vehicles are suppose to be able to go any where." Sometimes people learn the hard way that we should not only READ the signs, but also HEED the signs.

I'll give you an example about heeding signs in our younger years. No road was too "back country" for us, even in winter, and more so for my husband than me. Although, believe it or not, this country lady has enjoyed the excitement of plowing through several feet of snow in our 4 wheel drive from time to time. This one particular day though, I told my husband maybe he should reconsider the "NO WINTER MAINTENANCE" road this time. It was March, and the road was nothing but a sheet of ice. As we were discussing the fact that it may be just a little too risky, suddenly we realized it was too late! We had reached the no turning back point and were already sliding down the hill.

About a fourth of the way down the hill, we did a 180 and were now facing up the hill. We were at a complete stop. Don't ask me how we managed this feat on solid ice! Aha! We thought! Just slip it in 4 wheel drive and up we go. No such luck! We started speeding down the hill backwards faster than a bobsled, did several 360's and then we were facing front ways again and soon we knew if we did not some how get stopped we would be head on into a high embankment. My husband cranked the wheel all the way around and we flew sideways into a ditch. The vehicle was on its side. We were okay in spite of bumps and bruises. We managed to get out of the car and slide our way to the side and finish walking down the hill in the woods. After we got the bottom of the hill we called a wrecker company, which, by the way, was NOT really too happy with us. They had pulled five cars off that hill within a two week period. This was definitely a time when we should have heeded the sign. We paid the consequences for not paying careful attention. As we have gotten older, though, we have gotten wiser.

Road signs are placed along a road for a reason. You know the signs, slow down, sharp curve, road work, fog area, and no winter maintenance. (Grin) Just like our roads have signs, life in general has signs. No smoking, slippery floor just to name a couple. But there are other signs, too. People's bodies give them certain signs when they are not feeling well. As we live every day, life signs are everywhere! Sometimes people get into trouble when they don't pay attention to the signs. We somehow think signs do not apply to us. I was thinking about this 'signs' thing when I realized that so many times God puts up signs for me to follow and I just go on ignoring them. What kind of signs am I talking about? Mostly I'm talking about when God plants little signs in our hearts, like "slow down," "rest in God" "lean on God" "trust God" "have faith" or "put God first." If we do not follow God's instructions in these areas we suffer physical and spiritual consequences. But many times we adapt the "tough get tougher mentality," and we lose something in the process. Pride has a way of getting in the way. I don't know about you, but after thinking about this I know I don't want to end up sliding down some slippery slope that God never intended for me. I don't want to pay some awful consequences because I didn't pay attention to the signs or I was too proud to think they applied to me.