Are you living the red tape or the red carpet life?

Sep 29, 2016Find joy today, Work Uncaged

I awoke from the dream with the words red tape and red carpet floating through my mind. I couldn’t remember my dream, but the words lingered in the dawn. As I readied myself for the day, it all made sense.

For far too long, I’ve been living a red tape life, as if opportunities and adventure lied beyond a series of red-tape-protected barriers. I always asked, “What hoops do I need to jump through to get from A to B?” never questioning why the red tape was there in the first place. As I’ve mentioned in this space before, I’ve often let gatekeepers prevent me from dreaming bigger. I’m a “good girl” who loves/needs to abide by all the rules. Just tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.

Problem is, a lot of times the red tape doesn’t exist. I think it does, but that doesn’t make it real.

Last January when my mastermind group met in person, one of the most significant things said to me was this from my friend Thomas: “Perhaps subtraction (my word for the year) means subtracting the gatekeepers in your life.” In other words, cut the red tape. I wanted to speak about the Restory message, but no one was knocking down my door to do it. Instead of staying stuck there, the Masterminds encouraged me to forget about “them” and simply share my message in my own conference.

So many obstacles loomed: venue, money, staff, fear. But each one God took care of, in every possible strange and amazing way.

Nine months (ah! a pregnancy!) after my boo-hooing about not being able to speak as much as I wanted, I got to speak three wonderful times at the Restory Conference. What a gift! What a joy! People’s lives were changed. Thank God I didn’t let the red tape (this time) get the better of the dream God put in my heart.

That’s what the red carpet life is, friends. It’s realizing that maybe you put the red tape between you and your dreams. It’s understanding that maybe you should weave that pesky red tape into a red carpet, a wide open pristine pathway beckoning you toward dreams you never thought possible. God is in/on/through/beside/beyond the red carpet. He’s cheering you to take a leap of faith into that pristine unknown. But like me, you’re paralyzed by the red tape, and it’s nearly strangling you.

Be set free, friend. The tape’s an illusion. It’s time to trust God for the red carpet life.

 

2 Comments

  1. Jonah Lanclos

    Mary, great post! Also thank you for visiting our class yesterday!

    • Mary DeMuth

      Thanks Jonah, and thanks for stopping by.