Photo Credit: mycupoverflows-johnson.blogspot.com

Do you remember this game as a child? It was fun to try and run as fast and far as you could before the person playing the “light” turned around yelling, “RED LIGHT!” If they saw you moving you had to go back to the starting line. If you were able to make it to the light unseen, you won the game.

We love green lights, but red lights are usually an inconvenience at best and an irritant at worst.

Just this morning on our way to church, Tom and I hit every single traffic light as it was turning red. “Ugh” was our response. “Why are we getting every light red?”

Of course there was no answer to our frustration. Just a requirement to sit and wait, when all we wanted to do was move forward to our plans–our goals–our church! After all where we were heading was good, so why the delay?

I’m sure you have at some point experienced a similar scenario. It is not in our nature to enjoy delays or red lights for that matter. And when God is the one sending the red light it can be even more difficult to accept.

A little over two years ago, the Lord had us back off from posting daily on our blog. I wasn’t sure why He was giving us a red light, but we knew we had to follow His lead. Now, looking back we can see exactly why this was good for us. We have been in an unusual season of change and challenges, and by God’s grace this season is drawing to a close. At least from our perspective. Life has settled into more of a routine, and we believe God has given us a green light to begin focusing more on The Romantic Vineyard and we couldn’t be more excited!

I love connecting the dots of God’s faithfulness…

and looking back over the past two years I can see His faithfulness crystal clear. There were many reasons we needed to pull back from regular postings…

• Our son was about to move to TN, but we didn’t know it yet. This would be a huge emotional challenge for me, as all of our grandchildren would no longer call Florida home. Something I would have never anticipated or asked for. God in His kindness gave me the space He knew I would need.
• I was just beginning to host ladies retreats at our newly purchased cabin in Banner Elk, NC. Since then I have hosted 6 with another 3 planned this year. God has used my time to organize and plan these retreats with face-to-face ministry with other women, something I knew I was missing in my life. I have loved seeing God’s plan unfold in these women’s lives.
• Tom had a year of physical challenges that tested my trust and faith in God. I didn’t realize how much I would be tempted to fear not knowing what we were facing. But God has proven His faithfulness to me through all of it, and Tom is doing well I’m so happy to report!
• Tom started a new job which required adjustments in our life. It was so helpful for me (and him) to give him my full attention.
• Finally, we’ve started a marriage ministry at our church this past year, which has been a dream come true for us.

When I wrote the post about Perpetuate Or Percolate I had no idea what was coming, but God did. And I am filled with gratefulness for the way He cared for us with promptings to let go of one thing to embrace something new. He is faithful!

Thank you for staying with us through the red light. Your encouragements and comments have meant more to us than you know.

Would you take a moment and let us know what you enjoy most about The Romantic Vineyard? What topics would be helpful for us to address? We’re working with a clean slate, and appreciate your input.

We pray your marriage experiences a Happy New Year, but more importantly a New Year of following God whether it’s a red light or a…

GREEN LIGHT…

Tom and Debi

P.S. We’ve started a year-long challenge on our Instagram feed to post one picture a day to make much of marriage. We’re using the hashtag #muchofmarriage365 and would love for you to follow along with us. Just click the feed link above then click “follow us”. Thank so much!