Blinkers

 "When we say the gospel is about our salvation, we make the Story's BENEFITS the whole Story, and in so doing a major mistake is made: the Story is no longer about the King, but about us, about me."

Yesterday as I drove Peanut to the store, we encountered multiple drivers who couldn't seem to use a turn signal.

In my car manual, they call them Indicator Lights - a device for indicating that a motor vehicle is about to turn left or right.

My mama calls them blinkers.

It seemed no driver in Loganville wanted to indicate which direction they were going.

I was consistently hitting my brakes as someone turned or got over with no warning.

I was thinking about this lack of indiciation on my drive home.

How I'd like God to use some old fashioned blinkers.

Just show me where we are going. Are we going left? Right? Straight? Stopping for a bit?

Instead I feel like I'm always caught off guard.

I came home to find this card in my mailbox.

As I looked at that card, I realized often we can see indicator lights in hindsight.

I spent more time in college getting a degree than I actually spent standing in a traditional classroom.

I spent more time paying off the student loans for those two degrees than I made money using them directly.

Over the years I've used my skill set in a variety of ways but no one has required those pieces of paper.

In the last few years, I've taken a break from using my skill set to focus on mothering in this season.

I've questioned the path that led me here. The time, the money, the struggles.

In hindsight, I can see those blinkers in action.

When the big kids were little and living on one teacher salary was a stretch at best, those pieces of paper gave me confidence to use my skill set to tutor kids outside of what those pieces of paper would allow me to do in more traditional settings.

I spent time with numerous teenagers over the last two decades.

Many of whom have changed me, molded me, grew me.

One of whom sent me this card this week.

It was never about the pieces of paper or the skill set, it was always about the relationships.

God gifted me this relationship which grew and changed, and now is an integral part of my day.

In the NOW.

I couldn't have seen that indicator light in the past.

I had no idea where each of my choices would lead me.

Mama Warriors, I think we often can't see the blinkers in the NOW.

Which is why we have to really have to lean into His tugs, listen, be open.

Because maybe He's planting a seed that years from now will have you open your mailbox and be thankful for the lack of turn signals.