When ever we approached an intersection my mom would always tell me to look up look at the signal. I loved looking at the cartoon in the screen. Sometimes a big red hand would show and at other times a stick figure walking. My mom said we were not allowed to cross the street when the red hand is seen. It was OK to cross when you see the stick man walking. She told us to look at the speeding cars flying past. She was teaching us a lesson that she loves us and did not want us to be hit by a car.
Mom also said to look at the lines on the ground. We were told we were not allowed to deviate from the lines when we crossed the street. We could only cross the street when I saw the stick man walking and we had to stay between the lines. She explained the lines are a safety zone that the cars are supposed to stay behind when we were given permission to cross the road by the stick man in the screen.
Then my mom showed me the magic button. I was in awe, there was a button on the pole. It was something I wanted to push and my mom explained that if I needed to cross the road to push the button and soon the stick man will give me permission to cross the road. I could barely reach the button and I stretched my little arms and I finally did it. Nothing happened, so I feverishly pushed the button more. Nothing happened. I looked at my mom in confusion and she said be patient. Despite what she said, I pushed the button a ton of times until I was tired. As soon as I could not push the button anymore my mom was already yelling at me to hurry to cross the road. I was so busy pushing the button that I almost missed the stick man in the screen telling me it was OK to cross the road.
At every intersection I would get excited because I got to push the magic button. I learned quickly that I could push the button at the same time staring at the red hand to change into the walking stick man. I would still push the button until it changed. My mother would laugh and tell me I would only need to push the button once but I was impatient so I pushed the button until the stick man said it was OK to cross the road.
Forward 30 years later, I was at an intersection today and I was pushing the magic button. The shape of the button had changed, it was bigger, but nevertheless it was still a magic button. I knew that if I pushed it, something would happen. For kicks and giggles, I pushed it until the stick man said I could cross the road. Still to this day, I remember my mom telling me to stay in the lines. Now when I cross the road, I look out for the clown who does not know how to stop behind the line. I have given several drivers the death look for invading my safe zone.
Let's explain how the crosswalk and the magic button work. "A pedestrian crossing or crosswalk is a designated point on a road at which some means are employed to assist pedestrians wishing to cross. They are designed to keep pedestrians together where they can be seen by motorists, and where they can cross most safely across the road. On some traffic signals, pressing a button is required to trigger the signal.
I know by now you are wondering why in the world I am educating you on crosswalks and magic buttons. When a magic button is pressed a signal is sent letting the stick man know that someone needs to cross the road. The stick man will not allow you to cross the road just yet at times. The stick man lets the lights know when to change to make sure it can notify the cars that they need to stop so you can cross safely. Don't be too impatient, if you cross the road with out the stick man's permission you could still be hit by car.
The magic button you press are the prayers you pray. That prayer is a signal and is automatically sent to God that you have a prayer that needs to be answered. God heard the prayer. Sometimes we have to wait to get an answer. Sometimes we get frustrated and we keep on saying the same prayer because we don't think he heard us. The stick man heard the prayer and he is saying to be patient, it's not time to cross the road. You become more irritated that the stick man is not letting you cross. So you do it on your own and you are hit by a car. You not have been killed but you learned the hard way not to cross the road without the stick man's permission.
Sometimes the stick man is just waiting for you to get in the lines before he lets you cross the road. He is willing to let you cross the road but you have to align yourself to him. When everything is right and you are in his lines, His boundaries, He lets you cross the road safely and answers the prayer you prayed.
Pushing the magic button is an act of faith. It's a request that you make to God in hopes He will answer. Sometimes he just does not want us to cross the intersection because we can’t see what's on the other side so he opens another intersection in our lives to cross. The stick man sees what's on the other side and for some including me, we have crossed some intersections because we were impatient and we thought we knew best. We have learned the hard way.
Some of you are still waiting at the intersection, waiting for the stick man to say you can cross the road. You don't have to push the button until you discourage yourself. The stick man received the signal and he is clearing a way for you to cross the road. Sometimes the stick man receives the signal but He won't let you cross because you are standing outside the lines. Here are basic instructions to safely cross the street (Get a prayer answered). Press the magic button (Pray), stand on the sidewalk middle to the lines (Be aligned to where God wants you to be), look at the signal wait to see the stick man (Look up to God and wait until you get an answer), then safely cross the road (Answered prayer). Getting an answer is not hard. Just push the magic button, look, and wait.
Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side.
How did the chicken cross the road? He pecked the magic button.
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