Red Light, Green Light … (Part 3)

And so ask I did! It was all about the timing, and this time God gave the red light. God knew that I had more growing to do and if He let me go to the conference and make connections that I would run on ahead of Him. I would impose all of my own green lights and give God all the credit for it, until I would find myself out on a limb, asking God why He put me there and how long this time. God knows us so much better than we know ourselves, and I don’t know about you, but He often has to save me from myself! So, thank God for the red light - again.

The next four years brought good and easy-going times, tough and confusing times; always something stretching me to my limits in almost every area of my life. Sometimes I would scratch my head wondering why I was going through those things, and thinking there was no possible way God could use it for good. I just could not conceive of any way that God could have a purpose for allowing us to experience some of the things we did. Once again the excitement that I had for speaking and ministering to women was hidden in the back of my heart, and I put my dreams on the back burner, for what seemed like forever.

We relocated to another state, Adam took a new job, and we moved to an area where we didn’t know anyone. No church, no friends, no connections. How was God ever going to give us a platform to use the gifts He had given us? It just seemed impossible. For a while we focused mainly on our family for healing and refreshing, and eventually we began to focus again on serving others and reaching out to whoever came across our paths. We found a great church where we plugged in and started serving, doing whatever they would let us do. Just when it seemed that we were becoming content with where we were, God switched our light and it was green again. It had been so long, I thought it must have been my mistake. It was one of those things where I thought, okay, I’m going to look away and when I look back, it will still be red. But when God nudged me on the inside and caused all those desires to come flooding back, I knew it was Him and it was for real. And I knew that somehow, I still needed to be content with today.

We were already plugged in to our local church, and God began doing something even more amazing there. He gave us favor and friends, and knit our hearts together with the awesome leadership of our church. He started opening doors to serve in areas we could help share the load, and to continue what had already been birthed there. It was just mind-boggling to see God go before us, and even more amazing to us that He could and would use us after all that we had been through.

Today we are still serving at Canvas Church, and we love what God is doing there. He is growing His church, and we get to be a part of that! While we are helping to build the local church, God is still breathing desires and plans into us, and He is using our church to prepare for those things as well. It’s a win-win situation! And yes, I finally get to attend She Speaks this year!

As a family, we learned many things through those years. Some things taught us to be strong in our faith, while other situations humbled us, but every experience caused us to draw close as a family and even closer to God. We learned that we still have so much more to learn, and that helps us to stay teachable. God showed us that we can be content and effective where we are, even while waiting on the next green light with expectation.

We all know that green lights mean ‘go’, and we know that red lights mean ‘stop’. But ‘stop’ doesn’t mean forever, it means ‘stop’ only until the next green! So keep your heart and mind open for changes, and wait on God – He knows the way.

Isaiah 40:31 But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.