Signs-Do you believe in them?

"Call to me and I shall answer you; and show you great and mighty things..."  -Jeremiah 33:3

There are times when I cry out to God for help and I don't get the answer I am looking for.  How do you keep the faith when that happens?  You remember that God has brought you through everything you've struggled with in the past and that he promises to never leave you in the future.  You look for little signs around you to assure you that he is in control.

Life sure can be heavy.  Sometimes situations arise that are the result of poor decisions and we have to face the consequences.  More often, things happen to us that are completely out of our control.  Either way, God loves us and does not cause the pain.  Nor does he want to see us in pain.  In fact, it is in these moments that I most often feel God's presence with me.  He comes to me in my circumstances and reminds me that I am not alone.  Sometimes it is obvious, sometimes I have to really look for it....but it always comes.  When these things happen to you...these little "coincidences"...over and over again, you begin to realize that they are too intentional, too perfect, too purposeful to be random occurrences.  You know that God is speaking directly to you and it gives you such a sense of peace that it is near-impossible to continue feeling desperate.

One of the most obvious I have experienced happened this past spring.  My little family was picnicking at a local state park and I was so overcome by "life" that I was really struggling to be in the moment.  I have always been the one to climb onto the playground equipment, play tag, hide 'n' seek, etc, but on this occasion I was feeling so desperate that I couldn't will myself to laugh and play with my kids.  In addition to this, I felt so guilty for not being able to pull myself out of it that I began to beat myself up about my failure as a mother.  Many moms feel so exhausted at the end of the day that they don't always have the energy, but this was different.  I had energy, just no will.  In fact, I walked away from the playground leaving them with my hubby and headed into the woods by myself.

Nature has always been my praying place and I found myself sobbing to Jesus for help.
"Jesus, I can't do this.  Please help."  (Simple is usually how I end up praying when it comes from the heart)  I began repeating those words over and over again.

Not a second went by and a cardinal was in view.  I questioned the coincidence.  (Many signs for people come from birds that mean something to them...blue birds, eagles, HUMMINGBIRDS...cardinals have always had a place in my heart as well.)  While the timing was perfect, it could still be chance...at least until I witnessed what happened next.

The beautiful, red bird began to sing and I stood and listened.  Then the bird flew back to the start of the woods.  I followed.  The bird flew to a tree closer to the playground.  I followed.  Believing now that it wasn't coincidence, I went and got my family and we walked back over to the tree where I pointed it out to each of my children.  The bird didn't budge even when my always-too-loud family began running around.  It just sang its song, uninhibited by our presence.  After awhile, my kids lost interest and wandered back to the swings and slides.

Wait for it now...the bird followed them and perched itself on top of the swings, right with my children!  Flabbergasted, I said aloud, "Okay Jesus, thanks for the sign.  I'm here now."  I smiled and began to play with my family.  The bird stayed for awhile before perching on our picnic table and singing for a few minutes then moving back to its tree.  It continued to serenade us the remainder of our time at the park and just to pack a punch, flew by in front of our vehicle as we left the parking lot.  (I know you're thinking "yeah right" but trust me, I couldn't make this stuff up if I wanted to.)

As I think about the reassuring love of a savior, I am overwhelmed by his patience with my doubting spirit and his unending promises to never leave.  If you find yourself in any circumstance where you feel desperate, cry out.  I can assure you he hears you.