Most weeks I don't necessarily need a celebration for Friday, but this one threw me through the ringer. I thought it would never end. I've been mentally and physically exhausted, so though my weekend brings no reprieve from activity, when I say I was more than excited about Friday arriving, just know there was an extra three or four peps in my step.
It was one of my late mornings and I wasn’t traveling, so I didn’t have to be at work until 8am. I stroll through the double doors at 7:55, with my coffee thermos nestled in the crook of my left arm and water bottle in my left hand, rolling my workbag with my right, and ready to get this day over. So I thought.
I arrive at adjacent elevators right as the doors to both are closing. “Here we go,” I sighed, knowing I would have to wait for the elevator to stop on every……single……floor before making its way back down to the lobby.
As I waited "patiently," a young guy who works for another company in my building pressed the button to the service elevator and hopped on. He saw my confused face, and responded with “I always use this! It’s so much faster.”
Of course, I joined him. Wait for these other boxes? Ain’t nobody got time for that.
He promptly hit the button for his floor and then I asked for him to press the button for mine, as we made 13 seconds of small talk about the weather and the parking lot. He got off when it was his time and I rode to my floor, excited about this little secret I would get to share with my team.
Except…when I got to my floor the elevator wouldn’t open.
Let me retract that statement. The doors behind me opened, leading to some nondescript hallway I didn't dare explore. But the doors in front of me, the doors I needed to lead me into my office, wouldn't budge.
7th floor button. 7th floor button. 7th floor button.
Oh crap. (And I did not say “oh crap.”)
7th floor button. 7th floor button. 7th floor button.
Oh crap. (And I did not say “oh crap.”)
Open Door button. Open Door button. Open Door button.
Nada.
Crap. Crap. CRAP.
Do. Not. PANIC.
And then it hit me: just go back to where you started.
So in a moment where Jesus saved me from myself (because the drama was getting real, y'all), I pressed the button for the lobby and as I whipped my laptop bag out into the atrium, I met eyes with a very confused coworker, waiting to hear exactly what was going on. As I explained the scenario, she laughed and said “Girl, all you had to do was use your fob, if you have security access.”
Oh, that was it, huh?
Crap. Crap. CRAP.
Do. Not. PANIC.
And then it hit me: just go back to where you started.
So in a moment where Jesus saved me from myself (because the drama was getting real, y'all), I pressed the button for the lobby and as I whipped my laptop bag out into the atrium, I met eyes with a very confused coworker, waiting to hear exactly what was going on. As I explained the scenario, she laughed and said “Girl, all you had to do was use your fob, if you have security access.”
Oh, that was it, huh?
There were two vital factors missing from making this a successful “shortcut.”
First, I had to know that my fob would allow me access to my floor from that particular elevator and to know to look for the pad on which I would swipe it.
Second, I had to have been previously granted the security clearance to even get off that elevator. Normally, when I take the elevators designated for my floor, I just have to swipe my badge to get into the locked doors, not to actually get out of the moving box.
Both pieces were integral, both very simple, but I had neither.
You see, what works for that young man every day did not work for me.
First, I had to know that my fob would allow me access to my floor from that particular elevator and to know to look for the pad on which I would swipe it.
Second, I had to have been previously granted the security clearance to even get off that elevator. Normally, when I take the elevators designated for my floor, I just have to swipe my badge to get into the locked doors, not to actually get out of the moving box.
Both pieces were integral, both very simple, but I had neither.
You see, what works for that young man every day did not work for me.
And that, I realized, was because we were going to two different places.
Where does God have you going that the person whose journey you're trying to follow will not lead?
What pieces are you missing that are holding you up on the route you chose, the route that is different from what God has for you?
It has been a hard lesson to learn the last year or so that my journey is not going to look like my sister’s, my best friend’s, my mentor’s, or anyone else’s journey. Nor should it.
But the more I fall into the comparison trap of “why can’t I __________” and “why hasn’t God _________,” the less I am able to focus on “but God saved me from _____” and “He’s preparing me for _______.”
What pieces are you missing that are holding you up on the route you chose, the route that is different from what God has for you?
It has been a hard lesson to learn the last year or so that my journey is not going to look like my sister’s, my best friend’s, my mentor’s, or anyone else’s journey. Nor should it.
But the more I fall into the comparison trap of “why can’t I __________” and “why hasn’t God _________,” the less I am able to focus on “but God saved me from _____” and “He’s preparing me for _______.”
Luckily for us, just because we don’t do things God's way the first time doesn’t mean we will never get to the destination He has purposed for us.
BBC (Before Brittany’s Coffee) Lesson Number 1: Stop rushing. Whether you’re rushing God, rushing other people or rushing yourself…the outcome is rarely, if ever, positive. And more often than not, you’ll have to go back to the beginning to get on the right path.
BBC Lesson Number 2: Stop thinking other people’s journeys will get you to your destination. Had I been going to the 3rd floor, I could have ridden with that nice young gentleman and called it a day. But I wasn’t. I was going somewhere else and the path I chose was not the way to get there.
BBC Lesson Number 3: Wait patiently for your access to be granted. Stop trying to force things to happen that you may not be ready to receive. The security level attached to my badge is directly related to my identification and my job role. Higher security levels come with more responsibilities. If you're not ready for those responsibilities, you don't need to jump ahead of the line to use the access pass, either. I am right where I belong based on my experience and where God has placed me in this season. And so are you.
BBC (Before Brittany’s Coffee) Lesson Number 1: Stop rushing. Whether you’re rushing God, rushing other people or rushing yourself…the outcome is rarely, if ever, positive. And more often than not, you’ll have to go back to the beginning to get on the right path.
BBC Lesson Number 2: Stop thinking other people’s journeys will get you to your destination. Had I been going to the 3rd floor, I could have ridden with that nice young gentleman and called it a day. But I wasn’t. I was going somewhere else and the path I chose was not the way to get there.
BBC Lesson Number 3: Wait patiently for your access to be granted. Stop trying to force things to happen that you may not be ready to receive. The security level attached to my badge is directly related to my identification and my job role. Higher security levels come with more responsibilities. If you're not ready for those responsibilities, you don't need to jump ahead of the line to use the access pass, either. I am right where I belong based on my experience and where God has placed me in this season. And so are you.
BBC Lesson Number 4: Remember that it is OK that God knows more than we do. Trust that He will share what we need to know, when we need to know it. Until then, trust what we do know. And we know that He is good. He is good and He will work all things together for our good, as long as we love Him.
"Desire without knowledge is not good --
how much more will hasty feet miss the way!
A person's own folly leads to their ruin,
yet their heart rages against the Lord."
Proverbs 19:2 (NIV)
