Thursday, October 15, 2009

THANKFUL THURSDAY...flashing lights


Earlier this week, you may have read about how my son and I got stuck in traffic for 3 hours. We were on our way to meet his friend, who was going to give him a ride back to college in Texas. Jordan had been home on fall break visiting with us.

But an hour and half from our meeting place, we came upon an accident on the highway and the state troopers had the road closed and we got stopped in traffic. We were surrounded by semi trucks. One in front and one in back. After the first hour of waiting, the truck ahead of us still had his red blinking tail lights on.


(see the red lights ... they were like the energizer bunny: just blinking and blinking and blinking!)

Going into the second hour of waiting ... the blinking red lights really were starting to get on our nerves. By the third hour of waiting, the blinking red lights now were an irritant to us. So much so, that my son wanted to get out of the car and go knock on the truck drivers door and ask him to PLEASE turn his red blinking lights off as we were now permanently blind from them!! But after reasoning with my son, we decided it might be a bad idea ... the driver might be compelled to alittle road rage due to the long delay!

We were in a real tight spot. There was nowhere to go. We couldn't go forwards or backwards. We really needed to get to where we were going, Jordan's friend was waiting for us. But all we could do is wait. And wait. And wait.


(Here is Jordan reading a book during our 3 hour delay)

Nobody likes to wait these days...not at traffic lights, or in checkout lanes, or at bus stops, and certainly not in a traffic jam. Waiting is even harder when we are waiting for someone to return home from a far away trip, or wait for the money to come in that is needed to pay a bill, or waiting for a dear loved one to accept Christ.

Waiting on the Lord to act or provide or even heal is really, really hard. But waiting has a purpose. Waiting upon God reminds us of just how much we depend on Him.

I am not really sure what the purpose was for me and Jordan to have to wait in that traffic jam for 3 hours, but I do know that there WAS a purpose. Possibly, we were spared from being in that accident or possibly God knew that we (Jordan and me) needed a few more hours together before he went back to college.

I was thinking about all of the people in the Bible who had to wait...
  • Abraham and Sarah
  • Joseph
  • The children of Israel
Just a few examples of people who were dependent on God showing up. When we wait upon the Lord patiently, He does something really important inside of our souls. Waiting teaches us dependence on God's promises. Often times, God sends out flashing red lights to us, but we ignore them or get irritated with them and continue on our way. Forgetting that God has a master plan and He has our best interest at heart.

"I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry."  Psalm 40:1


Dear Lord, THANK YOU for the flashing lights that you put in front of me to slow me down. When I try to do things in my own power, I get in a hurry and oftentimes do not seek Your will. You always know exactly what I need, and when I need it. Thank you for the delays and the detours that keep me from swerving from your plan. AMEN.


LYNN  is our THANKFUL THURSDAY host this month,
please visit her and other grateful hearts HERE!


14 comments:

Denise said...

God bless you dear.,

Pia said...

this is an amazing post! it speaks about what i'm doing now for years... WAIT! thank God somebody verbalized what i've been feeling but i thank God also that yes, there is a PURPOSE why waiting is necessary. thank you for this, laurie! beautiful!

i said...

Thanks for sharing this! Think all of us certainly could relate to that! I'm still learning to wait on God too. This comes as an encouragement. Many blessings to you!

Anonymous said...

great post! i needed to read this. by the way- i'm in texarkana- near you?

aspiritofsimplicity said...

What a wonderful post. I am sorry that you had to wait for so long though.

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful post! Yes, waiting can be so very difficult. Sometimes in the waiting is where we have the greatest joys...spending extra time with your son.
Thanks so much for sharing this with us.

blessings,
Lynn♥


~Let FREEDOM Ring!~

annies home said...

God blesses us in ways we do not understand and possibly that long wait was a blessing in disguise possible guarding you against trouble or allowing you time with your child

cat said...

What you are saying is so true. Sometimes we just need to slow down and listen to His voice.

Debbie said...

This was great...and your are soo right of course. Waiting is almost always soo frustating. But sometimes there are such wonderful results. What popped into my head was pregnacy. Oh how I dislike being pregnant. I was quite sick for the first half, and soo large the second half I could barely sleep or get around. It was simply a matter of waiting till God's perfect timing was upon me for that wonderous result. This was a good reminder that God is always in control, and waiting on Him is ALWAYS the place to be. Have a great day. Blessings to you, Debbie

becky aka theRAV said...

This was a really good post. I was waiting for a milkshake earlier this week to the point I thought they went outside to milk the cow! LOL I had no place I really needed to be. Patience is not one of my virtues. Whenever I become impatient, I think of the people that got stuck in traffic or had some sort of problem that delayed them from going to the Twin Towers on that fateful day. It sobers me. When I was young, we were on coming home from a vacation. My mom really felt compelled to stop at a linen outlet which was basically a single room, hot building for seconds. We did not buy anything, but if we had not stopped, we would have been involved in a big car pile up. Mom claims to this day, the Lord had His hand in that. So you are right. Things happen for a reason.

bp said...

Such a wonderful Thankful Thursday post, I'm glad you were safe and looked for the positives of your long wait.

Tanya said...

Even in our frustration we must always remember he has a purpose for everything we encounter and come across.I too would have gotten very impatient,however i know all too well that with big trucks unfortunatly for safety reasons drivers of semi's must have their lights on.Thankyou for sharing your wonderful thoughts and reminding us that sometimes we just need to slow down.Blessings!!

Cindy said...

Thanks for sharing! I am reminded I need to be more patient during traffic. I have patience but not very much when it comes to traffic. It is a reminder for me to thank God for moments such as that. The waiting is the hardest thing especially when it comes to a loved one. Thank you for reminding me to never give up but keep on praying. I know our son will come back to the Lord. I'm not giving up. Thank you so much for the words of encouragement. Love ya!
Cindy

Unknown said...

Hi Laurie,

You know I am a woman of waitng... which this is NOT in my character....

I have learned more in the waiting for the Lord than I would have moving straight along.

Great, great post. Love you. See you again Thursday. HUgs.