Okay, so you need to know a couple of things about me in order to understand this post about random highway traffic signs. Having lived a mobile life most of my life (as in regularly moving, often back and forth across a major ocean between my home land of America and other continents where God told me I needed to go), I have become fond of observing random things. Plus...I love to travel! I love to send postcards. I love to receive postcards. I've become rather fond of taking photos of random things, and my favorite randomness these past 9+ years in Belgium has been vending machines. I mean, where else in the world can you find a vending machine that sells Coke, Coke Zero, Fanta and Jupiler (local Belgian beer) all for the same price, and without checking your ID to make sure you're old enough to drink?! Some other personal favorites in the "vending machine" photo files on my computer include: strawberries, vegetables, bike inner tubes and other emergency replacement parts (you never know when you're going to have a flat tire while out riding your bike home at midnight!) We have also purchased fresh unpasteurized milk from a milk vending machine, and my personal favorite is the "paraplu automaat" (umbrella vending machine) at the small shopping corner in our neighborhood.
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| The going rate for a "paraplu" now is 3euros (about $4.20)
So, on our recent trip to the US to celebrate college graduations and 80th birthdays of family members (congrats Carl and Dad!), here were a few of the random highway traffic signs that we passed along the highways and byways of the US.....not quite Route 66 but pretty close!
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| Are you guessing that we were in the Midwest of the US, specifically Wisconsin? |
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| Hey, wait a minute....that's the "yield to warthogs" sign from Croatia! |
So, why a post about random highway traffic signs? Simply because....they're random! And they help us pay attention to what's going on....on the road in front of us, or on the sharp curve that lies just ahead, or perhaps the situation is about to change, in a life threatening way. Those "levensgevaarlijk" signs here in Belgium tend to grab my attention pretty quickly, for sure! I like to know when something up ahead is going to life threatening.
But here's a random observation: isn't it just like God to be putting random highway traffic signs in life, for us to observe, to react to, to obey, to disobey. Perhaps it's a yield sign, which is God's way of saying "you might want to reconsider your entry into this situation before entering". Or perhaps a "priority to those on your right", which suggests that it's good to be a servant and think of the needs of another person before your own, even to the point of yielding to that person (on your right or on your left!). Sometimes a stop sign or stop light promptly grabs our attention, but then sometimes the red light allows for a "right turn on red" (which, in the US means that you can turn right at that light, after you've come to a complete stop, at first acknowledging the right light....and that happens at every red light, right?) How often do we slide through that stop light that God has placed in our path, in order to turn after we slip through, or perhaps we never really stop when God says STOP! And then there's the yellow light, which means "enter with caution", which is always a good rule to follow in any life situation, whether you're journeying with God at the moment or just stuck somewhere in traffic.
A small bit of random traffic sign advice: follow the signs. They're meant for our safety.
A small bit of random life advice: when God says STOP, it's best to STOP. But when God gives a green light, then you can move forward in confidence that you'll be safe in the journey.
Okay, and now for one last bit of photo journal fun...
Perhaps my all time favorite yield sign in the world....yield to the frog :-)
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