One morning on my way to work, I was driving down a familiar stretch of highway where all the cross streets had red lights on sensors; they only turned red for the main road when a car was sitting, waiting to cross. Eleven lights stood between me and the interstate, but it was 6:30 in the morning and there wasn't a lick of traffic to be seen.
As I approached the first intersection, the light turned red. I slowed as I should have done, but before I came to a complete stop the light turned green again. Funny. No car had been at the cross street to trigger the sensor. Well, it must have just been a fluke. I paid it no mind and continued on my way. A block down the road I approached the second of the eleven lights. Like magic the light turned red ahead of me, so I began slowing down, but before I could come to a complete stop the light turned green again. Just as the previous light had done. Now that was weird. Again, there hadn't been a car at the cross street to trip the sensor so I was thoroughly confused as to what was going on. Once was coincidence, but twice? Twice was odd.
Each of the next 8 lights did the same thing. They turned red ahead of me as I approached and then promptly returned to green before I had had the opportunity to come to a complete stop. Each cross street sat utterly vacant. I never once had to stop; the lights merely forced me to slow down and add a few seconds to my morning commute. As each new light changed to red and I took my foot off the gas I glanced into the rear view mirror at the trail of green lights behind me reaching as far as I could see. What on earth was going on?
Light number eleven. The last light that stood between me and the interstate was finally in my view... and it was green! I could hardly believe my luck! Finally! In my blind excitement I never saw the flash to my right. It happened so fast that I couldn't even comprehend what had just happened until it was all over. Not three car lengths in front of me a little red car on the cross street had blown through the intersection without even so much as a yield. Their light was red. I knew it was red because mine was still green! If I had been even a few seconds ahead of where I was then that little red car would have clobbered me.
And then it hit me.
How many seconds had each of those previous ten lights slowed me down when they miraculously changed from green to red? One? Two? Maybe. If even that much. However, when added all together those precious seconds had spared me from what could have been a life-changing wreck. Right then and there I stopped to thank the good Lord above for watching over me.
That got me thinking about the red lights in my life. How many times had I grumbled to God over something that hadn't gone my way? A relationship didn't work out. I didn't get that dream job. The car broke down. I hit red light after red light on a morning with no traffic...
Perhaps those hardships and troubles are intentionally placed in our paths by a God who loves us, wants the best for us, and in order to spare us from something horrible we couldn't possibly have foreseen with our limited sight. From that moment on I began thanking God for the red lights in my own life. I started praising Him in the storms. And, I took a moment to look for the little sliver of positivity in every heartbreak.
Thank God for red lights.
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