I Chose Stuck to be an Example to Endure

I chose STUCK.

I’ve been stuck in my life.

This STUCK was my choice.

I said, “Self, how long can a train sit there on the tracks?”

Well, Self, it turns out it can sit there a really, really, REALLY long time.

I stopped with plenty of space between me and the truck in front of me.

I wanted options.

This wasn’t the first time I had encountered a train on the tracks …

• not crossing in front of us
• not going really slow
• but at a complete stop!

In the past, we just turned around and found another path.

Today, I didn’t have anywhere I had to be.

So.

I waited.

Patiently

Humming

Totally relaxed

After a day .. okay, it was only 10 minutes … the truck in front of me backed up. The two cars in front of him quickly followed.

I should have wondered how long they had been there already that they felt the need to back up and go another direction.

I SHOULD HAVE.

I didn’t.

Chose Stuck – Again

Instead, I pulled up to the train.

I need to back up and share some background information here.

First, I NEVER (and I do mean NEVER) drive down this particular street. For some reason, I felt like I needed to go this way.

Second, I ALWAYS have a bottle of water with me. ALWAYS. My husband even asks me if I have water, so I don’t forget. But I did NOT do that today. It was going to be a quick drive. Why bother?

I’ll tell you why bother … because it’s better to have it and not need it and to need it and not have it. But that comes up later.

Third, the designers of this road put up concrete barriers between the lanes leading up to the railroad tracks. Which means if you are one of the first three cars near the tracks, you aren’t going anywhere.

It’s like being stuck in the drive-thru.

Have you ever chosen to be STUCK for no obvious reason?

When I pulled up to the front of the line, I rolled down the windows and turned off the car. I settled in for the wait in my STUCK.

Twenty minutes into the STUCK,

I began to question all of my life choices.

Okay, not ALL of my life choices. But I did question why I had ever considered leaving the house without my water.

I was sitting there

• No breeze
• Full sun
• No water

I really wanted water.

What was I thinking?

I took a picture to share with my husband, and that’s when I saw her. The jogger. I’d seen her earlier. She ran up to the end of the sidewalk, in front of the train, and then turned around. I had assumed she had realized she couldn’t take her run.

But when I snapped the picture, I saw her over to the side, stretching.

Apparently, she had been out running, and on her return trip, the train was in her way. She was STUCK at no fault of her own.

• She couldn’t turn around.
• She had to endure.
• Her destination was on the other side.

It fueled me to settle back into my own STUCK.

Forty minutes in.

Sweating

Parched

And then I saw HER.

Quiet revelation.

She has to endure the STUCK to get through to her destination. I chose the STUCK and I was choosing to use the STUCK to show it can be endured.

How do you make the most of your STUCK moments?

I reached into the backseat and grabbed my notebook. A notebook is something I keep in my car at all times, because when inspiration strikes, I have to put it somewhere. I started writing out my experiences as a way to continue to wait patiently.

Quiet Revelation

When I got to the words above, QUIET REVELATION, a cool breeze swept through the window.

• Just a moment
• Just enough
• Just a little

Are you STUCK?

I’m here to tell you that you can endure. Even if you weren’t fully prepared – find the shade, stretch, run in place until you can get moving, breathe.

Even if you did prepare some – relax, use what you can, find the joy, remember the breeze will come.

Persistent endurance will get you through the STUCK.

P.S. In case you’re wondering, my STUCK choice lasted OVER AN HOUR. But the breeze kept coming!

If you are STUCK on the wrong side of the tracks, how can I support you in your wait or help you over the tracks? Drop a comment or send a message, sitting with you in your WAIT comforts my heart. Finding your SPARK to launch over your wait fires me up!