Signs

Lately, I've been a bit down.  That's unusual for me, because I'm generally a pretty upbeat person.  I laugh a lot, smile a lot and generally enjoy life.  I wouldn't necessarily call it a crisis of faith or anything like that, but I've been struggling.

A week ago Sunday, I finally cleaned out the console between the front seats in my truck.  It had become so filled with junk (loose change, receipts, pens, cd's, etc.) that I could barely close it.  Rather than sort through the contents of the console as I sat in my truck, I unloaded everything in it into a small box.  Everything.  Even a few, stray clothes pins.

Monday, I was driving J.P. to my mom's house, on my way to work.  On the interstate, a lady changed lanes without checking her blind spot, causing me to swerve into another lane of traffic to avoid an accident.  Without thinking, I let her know how angry I was by honking the horn and holding it down for about 10-15 seconds.  I didn't yell anything at her - fortunately - but when I turned around, I noticed J.P. was just sitting quietly in his car seat, staring at me.  Immediately, I felt guilty that I was setting a bad example for him.

A few minutes later, I dropped J.P. off at my mom's house, then pulled out of her driveway and headed to work.  I guess I had the Monday blues, because I just felt unhappy.  Unhappy with myself, work, etc.    During the drive, I opened the console for no apparent reason, temporarily forgetting I'd emptied it out the day before.  Inside, I saw a white business card, face down, its brightness in sharp contrast to the gray color of the inside of the console.

That's weird, I thought.  I know the console was completely empty after I cleaned it out yesterday.

I turned the business card over in my hand, as I drove, and read it.  There was no name on it.  Just the following:

Let Him have all your worries and cares, for He is always thinking about and watching everything that concerns you.  1 Peter 5:7

And now just as you trusted Christ to save you, trust Him, too, for each day's problems:  live in vital union with Him.  Colossians 2:6

That's all.  No name, no business, nothing.  Just two bible verses that just so happened to address perfectly the way I was feeling that morning.  If I had a question, there was the answer, right in my hands.

Here's the thing, too.  I know, I mean I know there was nothing left in the console when I cleaned it out the day before.  I would have noticed the white business card if it had been there, because I emptied everything else out of the console and it was so readily noticeable Monday morning (the white color of the business card against the gray background).

I pulled into the parking garage across from my office, lost in my thoughts as I pondered the significance of what had happened.

This is where I tell you that I never, ever park in the parking garage.  I always park behind my office or in a parking lot nearby.  The garage is always crowded and it's difficult to find a space.  I might, I mean might, park in the garage five times a year, at most.  Monday morning, though, the weather was supposed to get bad, so I just decided to park in the garage.  Very unusual for me.

I pulled into a parking space on the third level and got out of my truck.  My eyes were drawn to a nice, silver sports car - a convertible - parked directly across from me.  I stopped to admire it, then glanced down at the license plate.  It was a personalized plate and I couldn't make sense of it at first.

Then, my heart skipped a beat, as I realized what it said.

SEEKHVN

I was stunned.  Two messages or, more appropriately, signs, presented to me ten minutes apart.

Which, of course, begs the question, "Do I believe in signs?"  Yes, I do.  Do you?