Given the uncertainty of the times we are living in it is not uncommon for people to search for some sort of sign that allows them to believe that someone - something - is aware of the current disarray and is administrating it in one way or another.
Of course, this isn't a new fixation; it's a game that has been played and replayed ever since God created man or man created God - depending on which you choose to believe.
Occasionally, in their haste to find something, people can see things that are not necessarily there; a delusion in which the human senses often find themselves complicit.
Of course, God has sometimes been known to show his hand; take for instance this church in Ohio that was struck by lightning immediately after the preacher had asked for some sort of sign.
The sign came in the form of a lightning bolt that struck first the steeple, then the preacher. The preacher was left uninjured but the church, thwarting an attempt to continue the service, caught fire forcing the evacuation of the congregation.
If there is a lesson to be learned, it isn't that God is "awesome, just awesome," it's that He doesn't like to be bothered on the Sabbath.
Written on Sunday, 6 July 2003