Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Shelley Schurch
Sunday, May 24, 2026
What do you think this says – NOW or MON?
We came across these letters on our morning walk last week. A big variety of heavy equipment and trucks have taken over our neighborhood lately, rumbling through the streets, loudly working on a massive water pipe replacement project for many blocks around.
Before they started breaking up the asphalt, workers came through the neighborhood on a quiet mission, marking the streets and front yards with yellow, blue, green, and orange letters and symbols. We know some of these identify gas lines, but the majority of the signage is a foreign language to us.
Except the word you see in the photo! That looks like plain English, except I’m not sure which English word it is!
We saw these letters last Sunday, so maybe they spell the word MON, meaning, “This marks the spot where we start work on Monday.” But that seems a bit odd. So does the word NOW. Maybe these are initials that stand for something only water pipe replacement people can decipher.
I realize I’ll probably never know what these letters signify. I also realize that it doesn’t matter. I need to be content that those who need to know will get the message, and the world can continue reliably rotating on its axis without me needing to know.
I’m curious, though.
Since I recently read the last chapters of the gospel of John, I thought of someone else who was curious, and expressed a need to know. Peter responded to Jesus taking him aside for a walk in which He told Peter about his future by asking,
“Lord, what about him [John]?” Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” (John 21:21-22 NIV)
Peter didn’t need to know John’s future. Jesus made that clear, and also emphasized where Peter needed to direct his attention.
And then, during another post-Resurrection gathering:
On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts1:4-8)
They didn’t need to know times or dates. They did need to hear the incredible news that they were about to receive Holy Spirit power!
And now we come to Exhibit A for a curious person who didn’t have a need to know. She had everything she needed, and more. Eve lived in Eden, in Paradise. God walked and talked with her and her husband Adam.
Eve lacked nothing . . . but she could be persuaded that she did:
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. (Genesis 3:1-6a)
Staring at three letters and wanting to know if they spell MON or NOW is a harmless curiosity on my part, but staring into a serpent’s eyes and wondering if he’s right about God keeping something good from her was a deadly curiosity on Eve’s part.
Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. (Genesis 3:20)
And yet, her distrust of God’s words and motives brought all the dying.
I wonder about things. I like to ask questions. I want to know the rest of the story. That’s true for me as I move through my day, and that’s true for me as I read through my Bible. And in life and in God’s Word, there’s much to wonder about.
I think God is fine with my wondering, but I don’t want it to wander into distrusting. There’s a line there, and I want to stay on this side of it.
As we walk out into a brand-new week, may we grow deeper in our trust of the One who walks with us, and waits for us.