I see them in front of auto repair shops and diners; I see them on front lawns; mostly, I see them in front of churches: the pithy, simplistic, often pietistic messages.

Jesus lets you do what you want to, but your want-to has to change…

Smile! God loves you!

People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care…

Every time I see one, I wonder who selected the saying, who changes it each week, and what the keeper of the sign hopes to accomplish.

Rarely is one of these signs saying something original or truly thought-provoking. It has to be short enough for someone to see it, read it, and make sense of it in the few seconds it takes for a car to drive past it.

Perhaps it’s too much to expect profundity on a roadside message board. Maybe engaging my mind on a deep level isn’t the point or the purpose. With all the anxiety, with all the inner darkness and turmoil people drive around with every day, maybe a quick note of positivity is a flash of light. Maybe drivers-by will see in these signs what they need to see – a lifeline from someone or someplace that cares.

Help can come from anywhere, even from a sign. If I took the time, I’ll bet I’d find something to take with me, something to ponder, in these signs. The fact that I don’t might say more about me than the signs and their keepers…