Rounding the corner and nearing the intersection, the traffic light comes into view.  I press down on the gas pedal, hoping to make it through before the green light expires.  Suddenly, the light turns yellow and I am faced with making a split-second decision: do I speed up or stop?  Realizing I am still too far from the intersection to chance it, I depress the brake.  Though the van stops, the map I had carefully placed within view on the the passenger seat next to me continues its forward momentum, landing on the floor just beyond my reach.

Eyeing the map and knowing I will not get where I need to go without it, I quickly consider the best course of action for retrieving it.  More concerned with expediency than safety, my decision is instantly made.  I put the van in park as I unbuckle my seat belt and then hurriedly dive over the middle console to retrieve the much-needed piece of paper.  Mission accomplished with mere seconds to spare, I swiftly buckle myself back in and make the move to shift back into drive.

As I breathe a sigh of relief, the light turns green.  I press down on the gas pedal, but go nowhere.  Uh oh.  Panic time.  My mind begins to race as I try to resolve the issue before the horn blasts begin.  Am I pressing the wrong pedal?  Did I break the van?

After what seems an eternity, the answer comes to me.  I realize when I shifted out of park after collecting the map, I didn’t move the gear shift far enough.  I’m stuck in neutral.  The solution suddenly becomes clear.  All I need to do to move forward is move the gear shift one more notch.

This incident brings to mind the times I’ve been stuck in neutral at life’s intersections.

After traveling the road of transition or uncertainty, not quite sure how or which way to proceed, there comes a point at which the path once again becomes clear and the time has come to move forward.  Unfortunately, I find myself stuck in neutral, unable to move at all.

I know I should be able to move forward, but for some reason I just can’t manage to do so.  Most often, it’s fear that paralyzes me.  Is this truly the right path for me?  How will others react to my course of action?  Will the path forward require more energy than I have to give?  What if I run out of gas before I get where I need to go?    

When I’m stuck in neutral for too long, the horn blasts begin and my fear turns into something else.  Anger.  Frustration. Complacency.  Apathy.  At that point, the thought of moving forward just becomes a bit too overwhelming and all I want to do is close my eyes, lock the car doors and tune out the noise.

But in order to move forward I know I need to take action.  It starts with figuring out why I’m stuck, praying for guidance, and determining what I can do to get myself unstuck.  More often than not, the reason I have been unable to take action is because I’ve set my sights too far ahead on the map when I should only be focused on making the very next turn.

The path ahead might not be easy or straight.  But the trip may be well worth it.  And I don’t need to have it all figured out in order to move forward.  I just need to determine the next step and make the choice to take it.

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