Signals along the Way

Many of us long for a call direct as Levi’s in Mark 2:13-17, clear as the “ping” announcing a text. But most of us muddle through without, vaguely hoping we’re going the right direction.

There may be an analogy to driving long distances–our spirits perk up when we see the first sign for the city, lake or airport that’s our destination. So God, drawing us always deeper into God’s self, sends a few signals too.

For instance, we look into the face of kindness and catch a glimpse of what Levi saw. It could be the grocery clerk who helps us through the tediously complex phone app. for coupons. Or we see one child, one familiar wisp of sandy hair in the crowd tumbling out as school ends. Over many years, an old friend forgives our most obvious gaffes and a few subtler ones too. Surely these tower in our midst like the Lebanon cedar of the entrance antiphon.

Do we notice? Or are we so driven by habit and long-conditioned thinking that we miss the shining reality of God crazy-in-love with us? If we focus on the surface of daily events, we miss the underlying richness–God in our midst, drawing every breath. Pulse Check: were God not animating us, we’d be flat on the floor with EMT’s trying to resuscitate.

Beacons/signs of hope: our deep longings for God echo God’s for us; we are essentially graced; the infinitely forgiving divine presence permeates every fiber of our failing, cranky, lovely, anxious, sweet selves.

Kathy Coffey “Signals Along the Way,” January 2026 issue of Give Us This Day giveusthisday.org (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2026), Used with permission.