I’m either getting old or I have special powers! Why? Because I can tell when it is going to rain. Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day, but I knew it was going to rain. Not because they announced it in the weather forecast, but because my body felt it.
Whenever it is going to rain I start with a headache then my knees and ankles start to ache. After damaging my knees and breaking my ankle playing soccer a few years back my joints now ache whenever it is going to rain. I can tell the signs so I get ready!
Living in the UK proved to me you always have to be ready for rain! It would be a nice sunny day, yet if you drove through the countryside and saw the cows were lying down, be sure to get the umbrella out. I’m no scientist, but it happened every time!
When I started to drive in the US I had a hard time, not just because they drive on the wrong side of the road, but because the road signs are so unbelievably small. In the UK it is impossible to miss a road sign. They are in your face! On American roads I would come to a screeching halt at a stop sign because I had missed the warning 100 yards back. I have now learned to be more diligent in looking for warning signs when I drive.
There are warning signs all around us. Signs that warn us about our bodies, our emotions, our spiritual life and our relational life. We need to learn to read the warning signs, because if we don’t we’re going to go straight through the stop sign without looking and get ourselves into a terrible accident.
I am learning to read my body when I need rest. I am also learning to read my reactions and attitudes. When they are off, or I am acting out of character I am learning to recognize them as warning signs. When this happens, I am learning to realize that something either spiritually or relationally is off. Usually it’s both, and it’s my relationship with God that is off. The problem with my warning signs are that most of the time they are small, and unless I am looking for them, or at least trying to pay attention to them, I will miss them.
Jesus, himself told us to look out for the warning signs of his return. When certain things start happening in the world, look out because this is a sign that he is returning, to reign and rule this earth.
So what warning signs are you reading today? Do you have any signs in your life that you are ignoring? Have you recognized signs & patterns that appear in your own life? Warning signs are there to protect us and teach us to be vigilant.
So if you see any cows lying down today, make sure you have your umbrella with you. Actually, come to think about it, I have a little ache in my ankle, better take a jacket out with me today to be sure!
