Small Signs

A young man stood in front of a group in an auditorium. It was full of hundreds of people, all of different ethnicities, genders, and religions. All waited to hear what he would have to say. 

Taking a deep breath, feeling just as nervous as the first time he did it, he began the speech he’d given a thousand times. “Welcome to Highway to Heaven.”

“I've never been a super religious guy. Sure I went to church every few Sundays with my grandparents, but that was just what was expected. As elderly black folk, God was pretty much a staple of their lives. I wouldn't exactly call myself a Christian, I personally feel like that would be an insult of sorts to people whose entire lives were dedicated to that sort of thing, that just isn’t me. If I’m being honest, I’ve tried finding him everywhere I looked. When I was a kid I thought he’d show up in a blaze of glory in the center of church. He’d step in front of the priest, tell him to take a seat, and lead us all to heaven.”

There were small chortles of laughter throughout the audience, it helped ease his nerves as he chuckled himself. “I know, ridiculous right? But at the time, I was young, I thought that God was everywhere and was in everything.”

Taking a moment to wait for the noise to die down, he looked around before continuing. “But as I got older, I was told that God is with you, and the Church is his home. Isn’t that remarkable? In every church, God is there. Only in the churches though, no Temples, Mosques, Synagogues, or anything. And I believed it.”

He took a breath. “But that isn’t the case at all. It’s actually pretty ironic, I was closer to the answer as a kid than when I was an adult.”

“It ended up becoming more and more likely to me that there was no sign. I had searched everywhere and came to the conclusion that there were no signs, and maybe, there was no god.”

He could hear the noises of the people in the audience increasing as he made that statement, after all, it wasn’t exactly an easy statement to listen to. Especially from a speaker whose whole thing was about showing others what he thought was the correct path.

Turning a bit to the side he looked amongst the audience as he took a deep breath. “What I came to realize was that I had it right when I was younger. I spent years looking for a sign from God, something that would show me that it’s all worth it. I know you’ve all been there.”

There were a few murmurs throughout the crowd. Some in agreement, some in denial. 

“For those who have had those doubts, it's fine. Doubting is a natural part of the whole process, to say you never had doubts is to deny that process. In fact, I challenge anyone who says they’ve never questioned anything at all about their faith.”

“But, things have changed. I now believe wholeheartedly in God, or the divine intervention at least. I’m not here to convert anyone though, I just want you all to understand where I’m coming from. And what thought processes lead to this.”

Getting to the edge of the stage, so much so that he could practically hear the heartbeats below him he continued.

“When people look for a sign they expect something huge. The sky changing color, a man rising from the graves, a message in their minds. Maybe it’s because we think of the signs on the highway as these big green objects you can see from pretty far away.”

Smiling at the audience, the man almost seemed like he was reminiscing. “But what I discovered is the small little miracles and coincidences that we don’t pay attention to. Like how water is the most important resource that every living thing needs, and how it's completely renewable. Or how the veins in the leaves look exactly like a dried-up riverbed, and both are similar to our neural pathways.”

“I noticed that so many creatures in this world have grown to protect themselves, they’ve changed in remarkable ways. Even the human body is incredible in the ways it moves and reacts to things. It’s insane. Have you ever stopped to think about how many functions you have on autopilot? Whales need to think in order to properly breathe, but we do it on autopilot.”

A few people chuckled as a picture of whales pointing upwards appeared on the screen behind him.

“Seriously! Our bodies have antibodies meant to protect us from pretty much any natural outside threat. As babies our immune system grows to fight off virtually anything, our kidneys have cells meant to detoxify so much. Honestly, the more you learn about nature and biology, the more you start to see signs everywhere.”

“If I’m being honest, the whole point of this isn’t to tell people exactly how to get to heaven or anything like that, so I’m sorry if that's what you’re all looking for.”

Giving everyone a few minutes to let that sink in, he continued. “I’m here to talk to each and every one of you about what I discovered and maybe it can give you all insight as well. Because I don’t think God can be found in the Bible, or the Quran, or Torah. I think honestly, that a sign of God is in people. In small seemingly random acts of kindness. God is in the person who holds the door for you when they see that you’re in a rush. He's in the person who gives their leftovers to a homeless person outside a restaurant.”

“Those are where you can find God. Not on the gigantic road markers, but on the little map stops along the way. The signs of God are so small that you can’t even register them all in your lifetime. So next time you’re all looking for some guidance to God, look for the little signs.”