a simple Sign.

I'm all about signs. There was a time in my life when I thought just about anything and everything was a sign from God, pointing me in one direction or another. Lately, however, I've been a bit more confused. Is that really a sign, God? What about that thing over there, was that one of Your promptings? I get so caught up in the discernment and the depth of everything that I forget to just take a step back. Instead of making things as simple as they could be (and for all intents and purposes, should be), I spend my days digging through theology and scripture discourses trying to figure out what it is that God is trying to tell me. One day a few weeks ago, I drove to work and received, quite literally, the simplest sign around - so simple, in fact, that it brought tears to my eyes. As I began my commuter trek across town, baby in tow, there stood, on the street corner, a woman. A simple lady - so simple in fact, that I didn't see her face because she held a literal sign up in front of it. The message wasn't about her or her face. There was no smile to be remembered, no waving to bring me joy, just a simple sign that read Jesus loves you. The message was so simple that it would have been easy to gloss over. Oh, of course Jesus loves me. This I know because the Bible tells me so. Come on, that message is too simple for me. But in fact, that simple message was exactly what I needed. The more caught up I get in high-level discernment of Big Life Changing Decisions, the more I forget about the simple truths: Jesus loves me, He wills my good, and He wants me to be close to Him. Perhaps it is a danger of my job, working in ministry, that I forget these simple things. I labor in the vineyard and the laborers are few. I work for the salvation of souls and spend my days reasoning out Sacraments, Scripture and the like with well-meaning folks. Those things are good and necessary, but so is the simple and profound truth that Jesus loves me. He loves me. Just as I am. Just as you are. Instead of taking that truth and saying, "oh, that's all well and good, but now what?" how about we just, even for a day, sit with that truth. Ponder the words. Reflect on what it means that the Son of God loves YOU. Catch yourself when you start to drown in the water you should be walking on. Stop worrying about the storms around you and remember, plain as day, simple as can be, that Jesus loves you. And sometimes, that's really all you need to know.