Red Light Days

Do you ever have the kind of day where everything just seems to go wrong?  Or how about the opposite, a day where everything seems to fall into place?  I call these “Red Light” and “Green Light” days – “Red Light” because on these days you seem to catch every red light when you’re driving, and these days require you to stop; “Green Light” because on these days you seem to catch every green light, and these days are smooth sailing.  If you’re like me, you love the Green Light Days, but the Red Light Days, not so much.

I had a Red Light Day recently.  It began shortly after I arose to prepare to leave for an early morning meeting.  I went to retrieve an item from my bathroom cabinet, and as I opened the cabinet door, a box tumbled down.  As the box fell, its contents spilled out and plummeted toward the toilet below whose lid was open and ready for the taking.  A symphony of plops and splashes ensued until the porcelain bowl had swallowed up every last item.  Lovely, sticking my hands in the toilet is exactly how I wanted to start my day!  “Strike one!”

After I had completed the toilet rescue mission, I proceeded to hastily dress and head out the door.  As I entered the garage, I pressed the garage door opener mounted on the wall.  The opening door revealed nothing but the darkness outside, and I quickly got in my car and began to back out of the garage when I was suddenly jarred by a crash and a boom.  I then discovered that my husband had parked his car in the driveway directly behind me, and I had backed right into it.  My husband’s car was undamaged as his license plate had caught the brunt of the crash, but my shiny little fiberglass bumper was left with scrapes and dents.  “Strike two!”

I proceeded to my meeting, albeit a few minutes late.  Once I arrived at my destination, I went to pour myself a cup of coffee before settling in.  As I did so, the lid to the carafe popped off without warning, and coffee gushed out, flooding the counter and everything in its path while I stood helpless in its wake.  “Strike three, you’re out!”

I certainly could have felt down for the count.  The three strikes had come hard and fast, all within 30 minutes of awakening.  I thought about the first event of the day and how it had become a metaphor for my morning … it was all going down the toilet!  The rest of my day’s events could have been seen through that filter, and many times that is exactly what would have happened.  However, God was teaching me to recognize these Red Light Days and to approach them from a different perspective.

When I recognize a Red Light Day, I know that I need to stop and take an inventory of my emotions.  It also triggers me to stop and realize that there may be danger ahead and that I need to consider my reaction to any obstacles that I may encounter.  The earlier I recognize a Red Light Day, the better.  It allows me to draw my focus to God, seek His guidance, and ask what He is trying to teach me.  Instead of growing anxious and stressed with each challenging event of the day, I ask God to help me to approach the day with patience, to see each event as an opportunity to persevere and exercise self-control, and to remain in His peace.

I’m not always able to recognize the Red Light Days or approach them from this perspective, but when I do, the outcome is completely different.  I was able to do so that morning, and I remained calm and patient throughout the day.  The circumstances of my day didn’t change, but my approach made all the difference.  I was able to overcome, and instead of feeling completely stressed out and frazzled by the end of the day, I felt peaceful and victorious.

The next time your day seems to be going down the toilet, ask God to help you stop the flood of emotions and to put your day in the proper perspective.  Instead of growing increasingly frustrated and agitated with each subsequent challenge the day brings, seek God’s peace.  Ask God to help you approach the day with calmness and to practice patience with each encounter.  After all, the only way to grow in patience is to encounter situations that require us to be patient.  And persevering through adverse circumstances strengthens our character and resolve.  When we are able to see adversity as an opportunity to overcome, we have the possibility to emerge joyous and triumphant instead of dejected and defeated.  Yes, the Green Light Days may be more enjoyable, but the Red Light Days have a lot to teach us if we are willing to learn.

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.  And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.  Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” – Romans 5:1-3 (NIV)