Hello friends!
So tomorrow I leave for training camp in Georgia for 10 days! I finally get to meet my teammates in person (!!!) and get prepared for 11-months of missions work around the U.S. because y’all, I am not prepared at all.
Let me tell y’all a ‘lil story:
A couple weeks ago, I was on my way to work, and there’s this one stoplight that I always go through right before I get there. So I came up to this light and made a full and complete stop, and the person behind me honks at me.
Because I had come to a full and complete stop at a green light. Startled and also feeling like an idiot, I left the light and continued on to work. It got me wondering, “Why did I stop? I wasn’t making a turn, and I’ve been driving for some time now, and I KNOW HOW GREEN LIGHTS WORK.” And then I realized: I had never come up to this light when it was green. 9.5 times out of 10 when I get to that light, it’s red (or mostly red don’t judge me). I came to a dead stop in front of a green light out of habit.
Which got me thinking about the Lord’s stoplights in my life. He’s had me in a “waiting season” for quite some time (like my whole life), and honestly? I was getting real mad about it. I do not like waiting. I am, how you say, not very patient.
But now that season is over. The Lord has opened doors for me to move forward and start walking in the gifts and having the experiences He’s called me to. But my habit has been ‘to wait’ for a while now. It’s been hesitation, double- and triple-checking before I do or say anything, and that makes me a little afraid (Well, I guess not really “afraid” so much as “apprehensive”). What if I stop at more green lights? (metaphorical ones, not real ones)
Obviously, I’ve gone through the green light for the World Race; I’m going in January whether you like it or not. I’m talking about the smaller green lights. The day-to-day green lights of just being obedient. The ones where God tells me to speak, or move, or do something in a moment. Will I take that green light?
What if my habit is still ‘waiting’? To stay silent? To step back and let someone else lead or take control? What if my habit is still hesitating because I don’t want to look stupid, or because of people-pleasing? What if I still stop because I expect a red light?
Thank God for the honks in my life to remind me to move. Habits are not broken in a day, and there are already people around me pushing me to start breaking some now before I go. People who are willing to stand behind me and say(honk) “Uh, honey what are you waiting for? It’s green! Go!” Because sometimes we all need a little honk at a green light to remind us it’s time to move.
Sometimes I don’t feel ready to move. I don’t feel qualified for the mission God has for me this next year. But let’s get real y’all: I’m never going to be qualified. A little more prepared probably, but never qualified. But God does not call the qualified. He qualifies the called. And I am woefully, tragically, hilariously, under-qualified.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians: “Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him.” (1:26-29, NIV)
So I’m not qualified. And that’s ok. I don’t have to be. I’m not trying to let myself off the hook here; I still have to try, and prepare, and be obedient, and do my best. But even if I mess up, that doesn’t matter as much as what He’s going to do. I just gotta move when He gives me a green light.
*Click the Follow Me tab or the Subscribe for Updates tab to keep track of my journey*
**If you want to give financially, click the Donate! button. All donations are tax-deductible**
