In 2020, I started a new hobby, collecting pictures of signs designed to change pet/owner behavior. It all started in March, which was a strange and terrible time. Everything in our community was shutdown. Our city looked like a ghost town. How do I know? My husband and I drove around every day for an hour or more, praying over our community. It was depressing and scary. I pleaded with God to lighten the mood and give us hope.
He answered me through a tiny sign planted in the gravel of someone’s yard. We drove by before I realized what I was seeing. I started laughing and told my husband to back-up so I could take a picture.
I honestly didn’t stage the picture – what you see is exactly what I saw. It probably appealed to me because I love fourth-grade toilet humor. My dad was a plumbing wholesale manufacturer’s representative, who kept me laughing with tall tales regarding bodily functions and the various items we use for disposal. Anyway, the picture of that little four-inch sign still makes me chuckle, but it also started me on a quest to find as many of that type of signage as possible.
I’ve assembled an impressive collection in the past ten months. Some are scary or angry, and some spout legalese, which doesn’t seem to be factual, according to my research. Others are cute or funny. God has been using these signs like a flashing light to get me to pray for the people’s hearts on both sides of those signs. They remind me to be civil and respectful and to have respect for others. The signs also remind me to ask for God’s help to be loving and kind when I feel disrespected.
The humor in my latest finds found five feet from each other, point out the absurdity of our expectations sometimes, and reminds us to laugh at ourselves.
I appreciate that God uses my quirky hobby to remind me of bigger concepts. I’m curious. Do you have any odd hobbies that God uses in your life? Do you ever think God has a strange sense of humor? What makes you smile when you are feeling blue? Where are you finding God-smiles in the middle of the physical and mental drama going on around us?
If you can’t answer any of those questions, ask God to lighten your mood and give you hope. Then let me know how He answers.
I’m praying for wide-open eyes for you to see the small things that will make you smile.
Andrea Sanger