Signs- Look, See, Pray

It is a very helpful sign… “This road floods each tide.” And it’s not a joke.

Heading for a pleasant lunch in Bosham, we squeezed through a couple of narrow lanes and found ourselves right outside the pub. Look! A parking space right in front! Sheer delight, we wouldn’t have to pay for car parking.

Then we saw the sign and had decisions to make. The first was whether or not the tide was coming in, or going out. Our potentially even more serious decision was to decide if we were willing to risk our car if we stayed in this “ideal” parking spot and were wrong.

Since the sea was already lapping at the edge of the tarmac, common sense prevailed. Hey-ho for the car park, and farewell to a couple of quid. (The very reasonable price of peace of mind.)

Chatting with the restaurant staff confirmed we had made the right decision. Apparently it’s not unusual for Bosham visitors to park close to the harbour, ignore or guess wrong about the tide, and see their vehicle float away across the harbour- often with an escort of swimming swans. If fortunate, they may be able to tow the car off the mudflats at the next low tide.

Today’s photographs were taken after we had finished our meal and left the pub. A narrow escape- yes, the tide was coming in. If we had made the wrong choice, our evening would have been spent filling in insurance claim forms. Reason for claim: an idiot customer who ignored a perfectly plain sign.

Moral of the story: Pay attention to signs. They exist for a reason.

Time for a little bit of homework. In his gospel, John included seven signs. They were actions of Jesus, each one of which points to the very special nature of Jesus. These signs are listed below. Your homework, should you choose to do it, is to look these up and then decide what each one points to. They are signs. They exist for a reason. Have fun working out the meaning of each one!

The seven signs in the Gospel of John are: