No, that THAT Green Arrow.   

The one on the traffic light pole…   

Driving in South Florida is entirely different from driving the narrow, twisting roads of West Virginia. In WV, the greatest danger is potholes big enough to swallow the car, or at least break an axel…and drivers careening around curves in the middle of the road…and falling off the shoulder-less road and rolling down the mountain…and…other adventures incurred only while driving in a mountainous state where everyone wants to have the right of way, including deer and bears.  But that is entirely another tale, for another day.

When we first arrived in Florida, Abby was still not allowed to drive, following her heart episodes of the summer. I was designated driver for several weeks, which turned out to be a good thing. It helped me grow more comfortable with the wide avenues, six to eight lanes of boulevards, actual shoulders along the road edges, and long, straight, flat stretches of roadway.

What took the most adjustment was the turning lanes. When traffic is flowing from four directions, the lights are vital to avoid entanglements. I still have to remind myself to look beyond the red lights to the green arrows.  The round red and green lights are for the straight ahead traffic, but beyond them are the lighted arrows that direct the turning lanes.

Often, I prepare to stop at a light that is red, only to discover that beyond it is the green arrow, telling me that it is safe and. actually wise, to turn now, lest some vehicle hit me from behind.

For me, there is a lesson in this.  How easy it is to reach a road block in life’s journey, and stop, thinking that the way ahead is closed.  But, when we look beyond the red light, we see a way opening to us in a different direction.  That turning place may lead to an adventure not yet dreamed, and a fulfillment not yet imagined.  Safaris are seldom journeys of straight lines.  We need to be flexible enough to turn, sensitive enough to know where and when to change our course, and stubborn enough not to stop in the middle of the road.

“ And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way, walk  in it, when you turn to the right hand, and when you turn to the left.”  Isaiah 30:21