Running My Red Lights???

We were talking on the phone.  An issue was troubling my dear friend… deeply.  She began to tell me about it… giving me the context — the history — so I could better understand The Present.

She had barely started when she exclaimed:

“I’m watching people run that red light!  They keep doing it!  Why is everyone running that red light?  What’s going on here?”

She was parked near some intersection in another city.  After our call, she was going to a cocktail reception and wanted to be close to her destination.  She laughed the traffic violators off as a distraction and continued on with her story.

But I made a note:  Significance?

It was another thirty-five minutes before she could take a breath.  Her frustration had bubbled over.  She was as full of questions as she was answers.  Questions of self-criticism. Questions of self-justification.  Questions of possibility.

Questions like:  “Why does this situation bother me so much?  Why haven’t I learned to have a thicker skin?  What is the other person’s real agenda?  How can this person be so disrespectful? How can others be so blind to the division she is creating?”

I had a different set of questions for her.  Questions only You can answer, Lord:  “What is the significance of so many people running that red light?  Why did the Lord have you notice this… at this particular time?”  

Why are red lights ever present?  To direct the orderly flow of traffic?  To warn us of Danger… and protect us from it?   To enable safe passage?  So what were You trying to say to her, Lord?  Today of all days?

What “red lights” have You put in her life?  Where and when are You asking her to STOP and WAIT on You?  What are the “red lights” she has grown accustomed to running?  What has blindsided her as a result?  And/or… What are You protecting her from right now?

There are practical answers to all of these questions in Life… aren’t there, Lord?  The “nuts and bolts” of living Life day-in and day-out.  We can be lured into thinking that’s all there is. But beyond all of Life’s “nuts and bolts” is eternal significance.

Oh, Lord… Give us eyes to see beyond the people and the pressures that tie us up in knots!

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground…”  (Ephesians 6:12-13)

Oh, Lord… Help us remember how each moment in Life is pregnant with Eternity!  So we will recognize the responsibility and opportunity You are giving us, moment-by-moment, to advance Your Kingdom!

Clueless… but for You!!!   🙂

Gratefully,

Abba’s Girl

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