I recently shared a story with my small group about a childhood experience that has become a spiritual analogy for me in adulthood:
When I was 7 or 8 years old, my mother took me to a skating rink to take a class where I was supposed to learn how to rollerskate. It seemed like fun, but when the class began, I quickly realized that it was harder than I thought it would be. The real problem though, was that instead of actually teaching us, the teacher just made us play a game of “red light, green light.”
For a small child on skates for the first time, a game that requires you to constantly stop and go seemed remarkably challenging, especially since I had no idea that there was a brake on the skates. So the skating instructor started the game by saying “green light,” and I moved to begin rolling forward, but then when she said “red light,” I was clueless about how to stop, so I just kept on rolling.
“Red light!” she shouted, and I kept right on rolling… No matter how many times the teacher said, “red light,” I couldn’t seem to stop.
And I realized, in the midst of our small group discussion, that I still have the same problem, just not on skates. In life, I keep moving almost all the time, but sometimes I think God is shouting, “Red light!” and begging me to stop and spend time with Him.
Many of us can probably relate to this — we have busy schedules, lots of responsibilities, friends and hobbies, and just generally a lot going on, which leaves little time to slow down and abide in Christ. In the midst of the busy-ness, I encourage you to seek moments in which you can stop and hear what God wants to speak into your life.
