I had an interesting conversation with someone whom I’m helping to charge forward into their adult life, specifically dealing with education, programs, and career direction. The situation is that they had been on one path which had appeared to abruptly shut down, and they were confused and frustrated. During the course of our conversation, I pointed out a number of things they could do to be proactive about solving the issues that would allow them to continue on this particular path, one being that in any situation, regardless of how dismal it may appear, there are always, always, always options. If traffic on one road has come to a halt, there is either a way around the roadblock in order to get going again, or there is an entirely new path that will emerge. In any case, one can’t just sit and wait for things to resolve on their own, because they won’t! We must be proactive. We must make calls, talk to the right people (sometimes anyone who picks up the phone is the right person), email, or sometimes skywrite until we get the attention of the ones who can help us do what we’ve set out to do. Sitting and waiting doesn’t cut it; we must follow up, then follow up again. Oh, and follow up once more. I had someone ask me just this morning if following up on a job interview would be viewed as annoying. I told them that when I hire, I’d rather have someone pester me than be invisible because I want team members who want the job! But, that’s a different story! Back to the one I began.
Even though I believe we shouldn’t just sit and wait for the world to happen, there comes a time when we have no choice. My conversation described above came to the metaphor of the “red light.” Everyone understands that there are times when we are traveling along at full speed, listening to our favorite music, drinking a latte’ on our way to the destination of our choosing, then wham! Suddenly the traffic light turns red and we must stop. So, there we sit waiting for the light to change again. It’s unbelievable how incredibly slowly the time goes by as we wait a minute, two minutes, or sometimes more. We wait. But here’s the message: almost all of the time, the light will turn green. Sometimes due to malfunction or emergency it remains red, but virtually every red light we encounter will eventually change to green and we can continue on our journey.
Some people automatically assume that a red light in their life means that they aren’t supposed to be on that particular path in the first place. It’s true that every so often God may use a red light to get our attention and tell us that, in fact, we are on the wrong road. But, can you imagine if every time we come to a red traffic light, we immediately tell ourselves, “Well, I guess I need to get on a different street.” How ridiculous would it be to change roads every time the light turns red! No. Most of the time a red light merely means stop for a few moments. Be safe. Take things a little more slowly and make sure the direction you’re going is the right one. But then, when the light turns green (as it almost always does), put your foot back on the gas and continue. Red lights in life can be helpful, but they are seldom permanent. Unless the road is entirely washed out, it will only be a few moments before you’re back on the road. Keep this in mind as you come across challenges which tempt you to give up. I plan to do the same.
Lead well.