The Sign of the Flowery Wellies

Between my front door and that of my neighbour’s flat opposite, is a small hallway that is normally used only by the two of us and anyone calling at either flat.  Apart from two doormats it is unfurnished ... until last winter, that is.  Ever since the last snow disappeared, a pair of flower-patterned wellington boots has taken up residence.  They first appeared in what I considered a logical position, neatly placed on the corner of my friend’s doormat, and stayed there apparently undisturbed for several weeks, until the recent visit of a decorating team repainting the common parts of the block and our front doors. 

At this point one wellie disappeared, and its fellow sat dismally alone by the wall midway between our doors.  Then I noticed that the wanderer had returned but, instead of returning to their former vantage point in the corner, they now stood together by the wall, where one had formerly stood alone, pointing to the door of their (presumed) owner.  And in their latest move, I see they are now by the edge of the doormat, pointing across the hallway, as if thinking of leaving!

So, what has the migration of my neighbour’s footwear to do with me?  And even more to the point, to the readers of this article?  Very little, of course; but as one brought up on adventure stories, I couldn’t help wondering if they could be a sign – like the lamp that smugglers are said to have put in their windows when the excise-men weren’t around and it was safe to bring the booty ashore?  If so, given the limited use of the hallway, a sign to whom?  And what’s the code?  After my recent article on Signs of Life, I have been thinking Scripture-wise about these matters.

St. Matthew refers to Jesus’ comment about weather signs (Mt 16:3), but most of the other references in the synoptic Gospels are to Jesus himself being a sign of something.  John, however, uses the word in the sense of something miraculous being done, either by Jesus, not by John, or expected (but not seen) by the Jews.  St Paul suggests to the Philippians that their stand for the Gospel is a sign both of their opponents’ destruction and of their own salvation (Phil. 1:28).  And there are signs in Revelation, with their own distinctive brand of mystery, of a woman clothed with the sun (12:1), a red dragon (12:3) and seven angels with the seven final plagues (15:1).

Amazingly, there are as many references in the Old Testament as in the New, including the blood on the doorposts and lintels of the houses at the Passover, and the fact of the Passover itself being a sign to remind the Israelites of their having been brought out of Egypt (Exodus 12:13, 13:9).

Signs, then, come in many guises.  We are reminded, of course, that we should be ever open to the possibility of God providing us with a sign.  However, we should be equally ready to test that what we think might be a sign is indeed from Him, by checking possible interpretations in His Word, by praying about whatever we think it may indicate for us and perhaps talking the whole thing over with a fellow Christian.