Thursday, March 26, 2009

A Sign of the Times: Jesus Still Loves You

So the word on the street is that Jesus Still Loves Me. At least the sign on I-75 tells me so.

I noticed the sign a few days ago. It's attached to a chain link fence connected to an overpass heading north from Detroit.

I was stuck in traffic and chuckled when I saw the sign above me. I instantly imagined some crazy old man with wiry gray hair, dressed in a flannel pulling the sign out of a shopping cart and hanging it proudly on the fence.

I thought nothing of it afterward.

Today was a different story. It was a great day...but something just felt different. I was again stuck under it and got to thinking.

Maybe this was therapy for someone out there -- a way to tell the world, or at least hundreds of Detroit-area travelers, that they are not alone.

Maybe the person that hung the sign had a bad day, got laid off, found out a family member had cancer, went home to a deceased pet. Maybe they wanted to end their life, but realized that even though awful things were surrounding them, somewhere, someone was feeling the same way.

Thinking that way changed my perspective on the sign.

Everyone across the U.S.A. knows Michigan is struggling...even my grandma in Nebraska who doesn't even have cable worries about us.

But instead of paying attention to all of the doom and gloom portrayed in the media, how about we all collectively think positive for once? To all the amazing/talented/personable/wonderful Michiganders out there - this message is for you: You're not alone.

Whomever this sign-putter-upper is: THANKS. I only wish there were other folks out there sending us little reminders like this to let us know that we're not alone. We may be struggling, but we're in this together, Michigan. It's all of us, and Jesus too.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I know this sign. I look at it and think it's some judgement on me like "yeah, we know you sinned, but Jesus still loves you."

I'm a cynic like that; I like your interpretation much better :-)

And you have a grandma in NE? So do I (two actually)! Were we separated at birth?