Signs in the Sky
June 17, 2020 – Florida’s humid air clung to my skin as I stood outside the Airbnb we had rented. My boys were playing nearby, their laughter a faint balm to the heaviness in my chest. I was trying my best to keep it together for them, but sadness had wrapped itself around me like an invisible fog. Then, a distant hum grew louder—the sound of a plane. I glanced up out of habit, and that’s when I saw it. The plane began to trace words against the expansive blue sky. I squinted as the message revealed itself: “God loves you.” My breath hitched. My heart stirred. The plane continued its aerial writing, this time forming a simple equation: “God + U = 😊.” The sight felt almost surreal, as if the universe itself was pausing to tell me something I desperately needed to hear. In that moment, it was as though God reached down to say, It’s all going to be OK. Camera in hand I was able to capture the scene, the imprint it left on my heart was eternal. It was not the first time I had fel...