Little Signs

I have of late been praying for God to speak to me in a way which is direct enough to make more obvious the path He desires for me. I am not asking for supernatural "proof" of His existence like our friend St Thomas, but sometimes I can't help but feel like I'm being a little selfish. Not every "sign" is a fantastic revelation or vision from on high; God is always speaking to us in subtle ways, and we can hear His words if we are willing to.

When I first had started to regularly pray the rosary, I received a little sign. There had been a small storm, and the power in my house had gone out. About halfway through my rosary, I thought, Maybe I should pray for the lights to turn back on; but spontaneously I thought something else along the lines of, Nah, Mary and Jesus have bigger fish to fry than my minor inconvenience. I had not even begun to reach for the next bead when immediately the power came back on, and all the lights with it.

So what good did this "little sign" accomplish in me? Well, indeed, anything that even minutely increases a person's faith is a good thing. Additionally, since then I have started to slowly but surely cultivate a relationship with the Blessed Mother; I attribute this sign to her intercession since I was praying her rosary. Finally, it taught me that no prayer, however insignificant, is passed over and ignored by God, and that answering our little prayers is not a burden on the Almighty One.

Back in September, I started praying off-and-on for God to help me to see His Image in the faces of His people. At that time I could identify three people within memory in whom I had seen the Divine Visage. A couple months later, I witnessed the most intense Heavenly Joy that I had ever seen radiating from a man. I still have a ways to go, but seeing that man was yet another "little sign" for me; a sign that my prayers were being answered and that I was on a better path.

It's easy to reason away God's "little signs" as coincidences; but, if I may slightly twist the words of Commissioner James Gordon, "You're a Christian now, you're not allowed to believe in coincidences." If something increases your faith in Christ, it cannot be a meaningless coincidence. Our ability to have faith in Christ comes from the grace of Christ. If you're willing to see the world from that standpoint, then each of these happy accidents is indeed a "little sign."