I am currently reading Everybody, Always by Bob Goff. Bob shows how we can live into a life like Jesus by simply loving everybody, always. So far, I highly recommend it! One chapter paints a story of Bob flying a plane back home. In his plane, there are three green lights that light up when landing, one for each wheel that lowers below the plane. As he put the landing gear down, only two of the bulbs lit up, one for each back wheel.
Bob spent lap after lap trying to figure out if his front wheel was on the ground before trying to land on the landing strip. The control tower couldn’t see if his last wheel was down or not because it was so dark, leaving Bob on his own. As anyone would, Bob freaked out! Eventually, he had to land the plane or risk running out of gas in a random field. To make the landing as safe as possible, he landed on the back two wheels with the nose of the plane pointed in the air. He slowly brought the nose of the plane towards the pavement, not knowing whether the plane would be scraping the ground or the front wheel would magically save the day. As the nose came down, the rubber from the wheels hit the ground and Bob lived to tell the story.
In our lives, we are constantly waiting for all of the green lights. We want everything to be as certain as possible before we make a decision. Without the absolute certainty of three green lights, fear and anxiety paralyze us. We are busy circling the landing strip when the plane needs to be on the ground.
We all have plans and steps in plans that we expect to meet. What happens when those plans don’t come true? Are you going to wait for every piece to fall into place or are you going to roll with the new plan? “No one is remembered for what they only planned to do.” God’s plans aren’t ruined because your plans are ruined. Put the plane down on two wheels and see what happens. For all of the control freaks and planners out there like me, this will drive you crazy! A little crazy may get you scraped up, but it won’t kill you.
If you are always waiting for every perfect sign, you aren’t going to move. If you think every life situation is going to have all three green lights, then you are going to drive yourself crazy. You are hoping for theoretical, future confidence that often doesn’t exist. Opportunities have finite time periods. Don’t miss your chance.
Sometimes two out of three green lights is the best picture you will get. Don’t miss opportunities because you want to be certain. Take hold of opportunities because you have hope and faith. Hope that the front wheel is down. The only way to find out is by taking the first step. Take a step forward, take a chance!
Don’t wait for all the green lights.
I appreciate you.
-JP