Red Light Monkeys

Red Light Monkeys…

When I was in Kindergarten and 1st grade I remember crying a lot! Most of the time I was crying to be with my mom. But many times the tears came from not feeling well. Then again, when you are 6 years old, it’s hard to separate those two. Maybe it was a combination.

Back then our hand written report cards included not only grades for our academic work, but also ratings for our behavior and emotions. I definitely “needed improvement” in the area of emotional wellness. I’m certain that my teachers grew tired of me crying to go to my mom’s classroom which was just a short walk away.

In my defense, during those years I had several bouts with strep throat and ran high fevers. Each round meant that I had to go to see Dr. Bownes (many of you may remember him) in Cullman. I actually enjoyed getting to go. We didn’t go to town often, so there was a chance that I might get a treat too. I’m not sure that those treats were worth the penicillin shots though!

When we went to town I was always intrigued by the big buildings and city streets. They were much different than the rural area I lived in.

One of the most interesting things for me was the traffic lights. I was amazed at how they seemed to know when to change colors and how they made sure that everyone got their turn. As a child I had a few theories on how that worked, but eventually I decided on only one plausible method.

It suddenly became obvious to me that the only way for these traffic lights to work so predictably was that there were chimpanzees working at each intersection to punch the control buttons! (Keep in mind, the knowledge base of my 6 year old brain was pretty limited.) Clearly since we had sent chimps to space and they had been trained to enter the correct sequences to orbit space, the chimps were now working to make sure that traffic stayed in order.

Each red light I searched for those monkeys that must be sitting in the trees with the control panel. They had to be there!

As adults, are we really any different in our misconceptions? How often do we make assumptions based on our own limited knowledge?

We act and react based on our previous experiences and what we have learned. Our decisions, most often, are based on what we know or what we think we know.

But, what if we sought advice on those decisions from someone with more experience instead? I bet if I had asked my mom how those red lights worked she would have explained it to me. Instead I created a theory of my own that now seems so ridiculous.

So, when we are confused or faced with a problem, how and who do we ask for help?

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. James 1:5

Our number one resource is God. We talk to God and hear from him by praying and reading the Bible. He will guide us. We only need to ask.