Red Light Green Light

15 traffic lights. I have to go through 15 traffic lights on my way to work. Then of course there’s the same 15 lights on my way home. That’s 30 lights on my commute, and that’s only if I go straight to work and straight home and don’t run any errands. That’s the potential to hit 30 or more red lights in one day. Yea, of course the probability of that actually happening is incredibly slim, but it is still a possibility. You can probably imagine how some days I get incredibly frustrated on my way to or from work. No one enjoys sitting at a red light. But sometimes it's necessary. And not only literally,  but also metaphorically. Literally, what if all we had were green lights? Well I would hope that would be pretty obvious. It would be a mess. The same goes for metaphorically.

Life is like a traffic light. It’s times of waiting and times of moving forward. And life isn't just red lights and green lights; there are yellow lights in there too. Times to be cautious and prepare for what’s coming next. The last few years for me have been a series of yellow lights and red lights. Times of preparing and redirecting. Some lights lasting longer than others. Now I feel I have reached a red light. The red light that will actually turn green. A red light where I am finally ready to do what God intends but now I must wait until He tells me it’s time. For possibly the first time in my life I am welcoming the coming change with open arms. Ready to see what this next chapter holds. Ready to see where this road will take me. I just need to be patient now and wait for that greatly anticipated green light.

Looking back I now see the importance of all the yellow lights, and even the red lights when I started heading in the wrong direction. They were to prepare me for when the light turns green. So, the next time you’re waiting at a red light, remember that God is controlling the traffic light of your life. Sometimes waiting for the light to turn green can be frustrating, but it will, when the time is right. And sometimes you watch as other peoples lights’ turn green but yours is still red. Be patient. Whatever light you’re on right now is for your safety and is in His control. Your light will turn green soon enough.  

 

Necessary

"It isn't necessary" a friend of mine said when I offered to help him with something. But what really is necessary? Is it necessary for me to help a friend when he didn't ask for it? No, I suppose not. Is it necessary for a husband to buy his wife flowers? Perhaps not. I mean. He already knows she loves him, so what's the point of buying flowers right? Or is it necessary to help someone reach the top shelf in the grocery store? Offer a phone to the mail lady with a flat tire? Go into work on a Sunday because they need some extra help? It’s not "necessary" to do any of these things. But what if we only ever did what was absolutely necessary?  

If everyone only did what they deemed to be necessary this world would be a very dreary place. People would only do the absolute minimum to not get fired from their job, no one would help anyone in trouble because it wasn't in their best interest, relationships would fall apart because who wants to be friends with someone who only ever does what they deem to be "necessary"?

Everyone's definition of what is necessary is different. For some it's literally clothes on their back and food in their stomachs. For most teens these days it's the phone in their hand and money in their pocket. For me, well, from my perspective, going above and beyond for a friend, or anyone really, is always necessary. Though you may not call helping someone reach the top shelf, buying your wife flowers, or helping a friend when they don't ask for it "necessary" they should still be necessities. Sometimes the best things in life are the things you don't ask for, the things you don't expect, and the way you feel when you do something nice for someone without them having to ask and without expecting anything in return. There are a lot of things that are "necessary" in life. Being a good spouse, a good friend, a good employee, a good person, should always be one of them.

Car Trouble

I was driving home from work when I stopped at a red light. Then, when the light turned green Spiffy, my car, decided he didn't want to go anywhere. I was stuck. He claimed his battery was dead and refused to do anything. So there I was, all by myself on a busy street with a car that wouldn't go anywhere. I couldn't push it out of the way by myself. I took a deep breath and tried to restart it. Nothing. I watched as cars got antsy behind me and I waved them on, telling them to go around. And I watched as the green light turned red again and back to green.

I tried to call my dad but he didn't answer. Apparently he had gone out and forgot his phone. So I called the owner of the Bed and Breakfast I work at, I had just left from there and it wasn't too far away so I figured they could come help fastest, she said they would be right there. I had a few strangers stop to make sure I was alright while I waited for them to come. I felt relief knowing I could tell them I had help coming. Then one of my mom's co-workers from forever ago showed up to help, he was on his way home from work and saw me. The four of us managed to get my car to the side of the road and I called AAA so I could get it towed to my mechanic. I later found out that one of my best friends was right across the street the whole time and she came over to wait for the tow truck with me.

Within seconds I was alone with a car stuck in the middle of the road, and within seconds I was surrounded with people, strangers, acquaintances, and friends alike, all ready to help. Over a week later I am still without a car, and when they do figure out what is wrong with it, I have no idea how I’m going to pay for it, but there is still light in this story. I was not in the middle of the intersection. And God certainly used this incident to teach me some very important lessons.

God works in mysterious ways. He certainly used this event to teach me to stay calm and trust Him. And through it He also showed me how many people there are in my life who will help when I need it most. Once I got home I was able to list off at least five more people I could've called who also would have been right there to help. But I also wonder if my car was supposed to break down. Just so I could get some experience with what to do in that situation before I end up in a place where I don’t have anyone nearby who could help. A way to prepare me for the future.

It was certainly a scary experience, and one I hope I won’t have to deal with again any time soon. But now I know how many people are there to help if it does. And I certainly needed a reminder of that. Sometimes God uses the strangest, most random times, like some car trouble, to remind you of the most important things. What has God reminded you of recently?

 

9/11 stories

Tomorrow is a significant day in history. Tomorrow is the 15 year anniversary of 9/11. A day where everyone remembers what they were doing. This post is a little different than my previous posts. This one is special. It’s sort of a post leading up to the real post. Being the writer that I am, I am fascinated with stories. So, I want to hear your stories. Where were you on 9/11? What stories do you have? Please share them! Write a comment here or go to my Facebook page at Jessica Page  Send me a message or post it there. Then I would like to compile your stories into a special blog post. If you would like to remain anonymous just let me know and I will honor your request. There is no time limit on when to send your stories in. If they don't make it into this years post I will save them for next year. Let’s help each other remember this day in history!

 

 

Update: I did not receive enough stories to compose a blog post this year. But please keep sending your stories and I will put together a post for next year. Thank you to those who shared stories, and I look forward to reading any more stories that people have!