The Big RED Sign
This is another story from my recent trip with 14 year old grandson, Ben. We dubbed our time together “Ben And Jerry’s Most Excellent Adventure”.
One of the highlights of the entire trip was getting to see one of my brothers, his wife, and one of their sons. Lloyd came to meet us and lead us back to his home. One of Lloyd’s favorite possessions is his little red convertible. Of course, when given the choice between Tonka 02 and the red convertible, I lost my passenger rather quickly.
It was getting dark as we drove the winding, twisting back roads that led to the house. We drove beside this bubbling brook that looked like it just had to have trout looking for a free meal! Finally, all I could see were the sometimes rapidly receding red tail lights ahead of me. The stars were shining, the brook was babbling, the road was still twisting and turning.
All of a sudden, I noticed my brother’s brake lights come on big time. Sure enough, when I got to that particular spot in the road, there was a Big Red Stop Sign! It was huge, very red and very, very shiny!
I came to a complete stop. I looked to the left. No road, just a sharp drop-off to the creek. I looked to the right. No road, just the steep side of a mini mountain.
After we arrived at my brother’s home, I no more than opened my mouth when Ben said, “Papa, I told your brother that you’d have a question about that stop sign.” Sure enough. Ben had me figured out again.
I did ask Lloyd, in my most incredulous voice, what in the world that Big Red Stop Sign was doing in the middle of nowhere, beside a twisty, windy road when there wasn’t another road, lane, trail, or even rabbit track within a mile. Lloyd explained to me that in that county, wealth determined power.
It seems that a VERY wealthy man lived down the road from the Big Red Stop Sign. He had the political clout, perhaps because of his financial standing, to get complete approval to have a stop sign placed wherever he wanted it placed. His theory was that if he could get cars to stop a mile up the road from his lane, perhaps he’d have a better chance of joining the main road without becoming a road kill statistic himself.
I’ve mused about and been amused by that little incident for several weeks now. God has always given warnings and information to His people. He announced the impending birth of the Savior to the shepherds. In the Old Testament, God often sent angels to warn His people about coming problems.
In my life, He often puts warning signs along my road. Sometimes I’m warned about going to fast for conditions. Other times I’m warned about crossroads and possibly conflicting vehicular traffic, like trains, fire trucks, etc. My problem is that I’d much rather see signs announcing scenic views and tours of a cheese factory than a Big Red Stop Sign.
I figured there had to be some Life Lessons hiding behind the Big Red Sign.
- Most of us regularly pray.
- Many of us ask God for direction for our lives.
- Nearly all of us miss His directions a good share of the time even when they’re plain and simple.
- We’d prefer to have some fancy, well-lit billboard out on the Interstate of our lives that would be easy to see and comprehend.
- We’d also prefer gentle, non-binding “suggestions” from God rather than stark, no-nonsense STOP signs.
Thank God for the warning signs He places along our path. Praise Him for His patience and persistence. When He says “STOP”, we’d better pay attention!
My Guru, Grant, is leaving on holiday shortly. You may get to re-read this piece many times. Of course, there are also nearly 100 past pieces in the archives. Might be a good time to check them out. You can always visit “Grandma’s Songs” page. If you love Southern Gospel Music, you can even contact me about owning a cassette or CD of “Grandma’s Songs”.
As always, you can also write and share your views, stories, challenges, and lessons learned by using the “Leave a Reply” box below!
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