“When the light turns green, you go. When the light turns red, you stop. But what do you do when the light turns blue with orange and lavender spots?” ~Shel Silverstein
I have to admit...I wrote a version of this a while ago...But, as I was thinking of something to write this week I started looking through past writings for inspiration and this stood out to me in the place of life most, if not all of us are in currently. So i decided to revise it just a little and share.
We would all love for our lives to be as easy as red light and green light. A universal sign of when to move forward or when to stay put, when to panic or when to rest, when to give in or when to fight through, etc. But, that wouldn’t be life. There are times when it is so simple that it can be related to stop and go, black and white, or yes and no. But sometimes that light changes to a color you’ve never seen. What then? What do you do? What do you say? Who do you call? Will you be ready?
I think we can all agree that at one point or another we’ve been in a position of “What do I do?” It’s tough. It creates a sense of panic sometimes because the funny thing about life is that more times than not, our brains are trained to see the most general of outcomes. Think about it. So many things in life are made to be overly simple so we, as humans, don’t have to make too many tough decisions in general. Traffic lights-green means go and red means stop. Most questions asked require a simple yes or no. In so many areas everything is just laid out for us to simply choose one or the other. So, when the lavender spots show up we are lost, confused, anxious, scared, etc. We have to be better. We have to know better. And we have to trust greater.
For the most part there is no way to “prepare” for something out of the ordinary to happen. But, we can choose to train ourselves to KNOW the unexpected will happen and that in itself is preparation. Because one of the main problems with things out of the ordinary isn’t necessarily that they’re not normal. It’s that they interfere with the normality of our ROUTINE. We are simply people of routine. Which is great for things like getting to work on time, making sure you're up and ready for church on Sunday's, personal hygiene, and things like that. But when your entire life and world circles around a routine, the unexpected can break you. Having one link in the chain of your routine could ruin you if the routine is all you rely on.
John 16:33 says I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” This is my favorite scripture in the entire Bible. Because it brings you peace while also making sure you understand sometimes things WILL be difficult. There WILL BE trials and sorrows. There WILL BE things out of your control and against your normal. There WILL BE lavender spots. But, HE has already overcome them. And if HE lives in YOU, the world and its problems have already been overcome. And when you get ahold of that it can not only change your life but, it can change the lives around you and extend all over the world. WE together can change the world simply by understanding God already has.
So…”What about the lavender spots?” There's a purpose and plan for them. Life isn't as simple as stop and go. But, God knows what to do with everything out of the ordinary and use it for good.