Signposts Along the Way: Signpost 10 – Part 3 of 3: Seeing What Can’t Be Seen

22 Aug

As I watched his every move something occurred to me. It was almost as if Dad were invisible and I was the only one who could see him. Nobody seemed concerned that he was probing around these “unofficial, off-limits” areas. I saw them as “unofficial” because there were no posted signs or restricted entries; just roaming ushers and security personnel guarding the loosely delineated spaces. Nevertheless, it was obvious that dad had crossed into parts of the church that were not privy to us civilians.

Continuing on his recon mission, I witnessed him opening doors, climbing stairs, inspecting the walls and floors & combing every inch of these private areas like a CSI detective on a new found crime scene.

After about thirty minutes, with his curiosity seemingly satisfied, he walked out from the altar area and headed back towards us and his seat. I was almost relieved when I noticed dad stopping at random seats on the way and speaking with complete strangers. “Here we go! What could possibly be next?” was all I could help to wonder.

Dad performed these seemingly arbitrary inquiries a number of times before he finally made it back to his chair. We all just stared at him as he quietly filled his empty seat. Finally, mom leaned in and spoke up for the group, “Just what were you doing up there? Her voice in a pursed whisper firmly directed at Dad. As she spoke, I still peeked around for any signs of church security closing in on our position. Luckily we were safe. “What exactly did you think you were going to find? And why were you talking to all of those people?”

Dad smiled contently. After contemplating his response for a moment, he just said, “I’m done looking. I found what I was searching for and it was real. It is real.”

We didn’t know what to say. For Jim, my dad, who was skeptical of two plus two equaling four unless he counted it himself, to have such a resolute response to such an obviously perplexing issue, could only mean one thing. God had his Hand here again.

Dad never did tell us what he found (or didn’t find) that day. But if his actions were to be a reflection of his discovery, then we already knew the answer. From that day forward my dad became a true believer. There was no stopping him from sharing and proclaiming the Good News to anyone that would listen, and as Jim would have it, even to those who wouldn’t.

 

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