A priest was saying the other day that too often we look for large signs in our lives to help us make decisions while more often we should be looking for smaller ones -- the "little things."

That's a prayer:

"Lord, illumine and make me understand the little things in my life."

The little signs.

On a continual basis, we all get them.

They're found in the natural course of life. We get them to help us, to encourage us, to give us hope, to alleviate tension, to warn us, to indicate our life missions.

One day, we may see how we ignored signs that would have led us on a course that avoided many things we wish we would have avoided and would have led to a fuller life.

Why not try to discern that now?

Our prayer might be that from here on we see what we should see and heed what we should heed.

"Lord, illumine the little things in my life."

Many times we are going too fast to see them.

Signs come in many forms. Signs come in the way we feel, they come in what we read, they come through the mouths of others, they come through ailments, they come through health, they come through victory, they come through a sneeze, they come through antagonism, they come through comradery, they come through coincidence, they come through success, they come through failure, they can come through dreams.

That old expression "go with the flow" has special meaning when the flow is the Holy Spirit.

When it is the "living waters."

"Lord, illumine the little things in my life."

When we flow with God, we head for what He defines as success (not what the world does). That causes so many problems, so many disappointments, so much stress: when we seek "signs" in a way that is worldly so that we can attain worldly success, we are wasting invaluable time. How often do we lament that God "did not answer" our prayers? How often do we moan that faith doesn't seem to be working -- because we did not get this, because we did not get that, because such and such did not happen?

These are signs that what we are seeking may not be in accordance with His design for us.

It will not redound to our "original splendor."

"Lord, illumine the little things in my life."

Signs? They can be small or large. We should not seek a "magic show." For most such things come in a subtle way. Isn't God the author of subtlety? Isn't a coincidence His way of remaining anonymous (in His humility)?

If we trip over a crack, it may be a sign that we need to fix the sidewalk (or avoid it). If a leaf is drooping on a tree in the yard it could have insects. A tick-tick in the motor may indicate problems down the road. If we keep hearing about a place, maybe there is something there for us. If we keep running into someone, perhaps we have something to do with them (or for them). If we keep reading about spinach, maybe we need to eat more spinach!

We all know what happens when we don't pay attention to signs on a highway or street (especially the signs to slow down or stop).

That's hardly to say there can't be dramatic indications. These certainly occur despite the skepticism of our current times. (Can you imagine what people would say today if a peasant woman named Mary from some small town claimed to see and hear an angel? Jesus was a "sign" that was rejected, says Luke 2:34; there is the Sign of the Cross; we began Lent with a sign on our foreheads; there was the sign of the Star of Bethlehem; the manger itself was a sign.)

There are big signs. There are signs in nature. There are signs in the life spans of leaves, in the spot where the sun rises, in the first seedlings that speak of spring, in the clouds that portend a shower, in the sway of the wind. There are miraculous signs. There are the roses that appear after a novena to the Little Flower and the many signs that Our Blessed Mother gives us. When these come, or when our intuition is alerted, pay attention. If the gut quivers let the mind take note. Strike a balance between seeing too much into signs and confirmations and not noting them enough; always seek the "harmony" of life, whereby each thing sings to another.

In our own lives, signs can come when we stumble, when we feel too much resistance, when it seems like we're forcing things, when what we seek creates tension, when the fruit is insomnia, just as our bodies tell us what is good and not so good when what we eat causes reflux or allergies.

"Lord, illumine the little things in my life."

If we don't heed the sign of small effects, we often encounter negative larger ones.

Jesus Himself told us to watch the "signs of the times."

It is when our brains rule over our hearts that we miss the "little things" (and even those big ones).

Everything in life is miraculous -- it's just that many miracles (signs) are in "slow motion" or exquisite in their subtlety.

"Lord, illumine the little things in my life."

Find the big in the small. Seek not the spectacular. Neither be skeptical. Here we shut out the Holy Spirit. Here (with Pharisaical pride) we live the life of pretense.

A sign can come when someone or something makes you feel like someone or something you are not.

The signs of your mission come by way of what you love doing, what makes you feel at home, what makes you feel holiest, what you have energy for, what makes you happy, what you simply love to do, what brings satisfaction, what is hard but causes joy, what is done with no selfishness, what fits like an old shoe, what requires work, but not tension, not exhaustion, what fits your personality, what serves others, what allows the purity of intention, what brings you closest to God.

So many seek to be "big" in the eyes of the world, when what God sees is greatness in what is small!

This is a "secret of eternity."

And if there is greatness in what is little, there are signs there also.

When something causes us trepidation, depression, weightiness, or outright fear -- when we feel the bottom of our stomachs fall -- these are also "signs of the times" (our times).

Throughout this journey called life, there are signposts. Some are big -- billboards. Most are small. Some are just about microscopic.

All are noticed (illumined) in a state of prayer.

-- Michael H. Brown

[Resources: A Life of Blessings]

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