Signs of Life

It rather stuck in my mind.  As I was waiting to collect some goods for delivery one day a few weeks ago, drinking in the unusual warmth in the air, and thinking summer might have arrived at last, I spotted a sign on a unit across the industrial estate.  “A business with no sign is a sign of no business!”  It was crisp, neat and concisely explained the nature of their product. 

Slogans are catchy, occasionally amusing and, above all, they do have this habit of sticking in the mind.  I’m sure many of us can recall advertising slogans that were on TV decades ago – perhaps even selling products that are no longer in existence!  They make use of one key characteristic of the article – something it does, some need that it alone can fulfil. 

At a personal level, most of us have particular sayings that we habitually use.  Who of a certain age can forget the detective who said, in almost every episode, “By Timothy!”?  He was too much of a gentleman to swear with any stronger oath.  Or maybe you remember Jo March in Louisa Alcott’s ‘Little Women’, who would exclaim, “Christopher Columbus!”  Fiction apart, our customary sayings, like advertising slogans, can reveal much about us: what we think, what we believe, the way we conduct our lives. 

Last year, a key member of the Family History Society to which I belong, died.  In a tribute to her in the magazine, reference was made to Jean’s frequent habit of calling her friends and colleagues back to the matter in hand with the words, “Right, let’s get on with it; work to do.” 

Signs, sayings and catch phrases are all around us; and our faith provides us with signs, too.  The Easter story provides us with a special symbol, probably the sign that, in one form or another, appears most often across the whole world: the Cross.  I once had a little bronze, medallion that had belonged to my father (though where he got it from I have no idea!)  Sadly I lost it many years ago, but I remember it fondly; its design and inscription are still clear to me now.  Around the edge were the words, “In hoc signo vinces”, and in the middle of these was a big, plain cross.  Its presence is echoed by the plain wooden cross I now wear every day. 

I recently found out the meaning of those words, and perhaps they can be taken as an indicator of hope for us all in these difficult times, “In this sign you will conquer!”