Red light, Green light.

One of the aspects I love about having elementary school aged kids, is seeing the games I used to play as a little girl come back around.

Cutesy jump rope chants

“Cinderella, dressed in yellow, went upstairs to kiss her fellow….”

Red Rover

“Red Rover, Red Rover…Send [insert name]….right over!”

[Who is Red Rover anyway?]

And one of my favorites:

Red light, Green light

My girls love to roller skate. So every couple of months we load up their skates and head to the local roller rink -that  is completely lost in the 90’s.

Neon black, pink and green carpet, smelly bathrooms and the absolute worst tasting pizza you have ever allowed your taste buds to be exposed to.

It’s an epic way to spend a Friday night. [smile]

But my girls love it. And they can roll with the best of them -even the Kennyboo.

Plus, occasionally the DJ will blast out some NKOTB and that is more than enough motivation for this momma to get her skate on.  [such a sight…such a sight.]

Anyway, one of the things they at this skating rink is every hour is game time. They do races, the hokey pokey and…Red light, Green light.

Red Light, Green light can be difficult on roller skates. As my Hope figured out last time we were there.

Stop. Go. Stop. Go. Stop. Go.

She was trying her best to keep up, but eventually her skates got the best of her and she was out.

She had her big smile on her face as she took her seat on the edge of the rink while the other kids finished the game. She was disappointed to be out but  Hope cheered with everyone as the winner was announced.

The loss didn’t seem to effect her to much.

Sometimes I feel like my life is much like a game of Red light, Green light.

I get going on something and then boom, something abruptly causes me to stop.

Not that I think God has nothing better to do with His time than to sit upon His throne and call out:  STOP!…GO!…STOP!…GO!

But honestly, sometimes it feels like that.

There are days I find myself feeling like I’m sitting on the edge of a roller rink watching everyone else finish the game -while I am out.

Pushing through the discouragement that the go’s and stop’s of life can bring is tough. But its very possible to find that spirit of contentedness while in a stopping point.

It makes me think about this verse:

“May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. ” -Psalm 20:4

While a lot of people use this verse to bring the warm fuzzy feelings that if we just believe enough the green light will come, I’m not convinced that’s what this verse is saying.

Two things I’m noticing right away:

1. It says, “May he…” meaning God. It would be silly for us to think that everything we desire is what God desires. Truth, God desires good things for us but the key in this is moving from our desires to His desires.

This morning this has looked like this for me:

“Lord, what is it in my life that I am desiring more than you?”

There is a long ugly list.

And I want to lay those things down today.

2. “Make all your plans succeed…” I love this portion of the verse but then I’m thinking about my failed plans, what about those things that haven’t worked out –yet?

How do I keep pushing through despite my best efforts failing?

God is  showing me that when He is our deepest desire, our portion, our everything —the rest will come.

But what about those red lights?

I’m seeing that they are for our benefit and keep us from completely being “out”.

I look at red lights today as a time to pause, reflect, question, wonder and seek to understand God’s desires for my life.

God is a winner and therefore only produces winners. Trust the red lights because pretty soon they will turn green and victory will be just ahead.