The other day I was on my way back to the office with my traditional mid-morning cup of coffee and bagel when I witnessed something remarkable.

Bart’s Café is just down the road from my office (.1 miles or 49 seconds according to Google). Although close, it happens to be on the other side of the street, and on the other side of the largest, busiest, and most dangerous intersection in town—an intersection seemingly designed by the city planner’s first grader in crayon on the back of a placemat. Needless to say, it is always an adventure. This day’s adventure was above and beyond anything I could have hoped for.

It’s bitterly cold, my coffee is too hot to drink, I have forgotten my jacket, and the crosswalk button seems to be broken. And so I wait, and wait. After the first round of lights goes by without a walk signal, I figure I must not have pushed the button hard enough. After the second, I become optimistic that the system will eventually figure out I am waiting patiently.

There is a woman to my left, impatient and grumbling, annoyed and blind. Yes, blind. I never made it clear to her I was present, but I’m sure she could tell I was there from the chattering of my teeth.

We waited for about five rotations of lights before she went for it. That’s right, she went for it. The blind woman to my left barged across the intersection at what I deem to be the second most inopportune moment possible. Cars dodged her, trucks stopped, and I… well I stood there wide-mouthed in horror, awe, confusion, and fear. Let’s get this straight—I’m no coward, but I sure would not have chosen that moment to make my way across the street.

Only a few moments after she had crossed, the four-way walk signal came on and I made my way diagonally across the intersection. And yet I could not stop thinking about the woman and what she had done. On one hand I saw great bravery in that moment, yet I also saw great foolishness. She may have shown courage, but was it really necessary? And if it was not necessary, does her bold action lose its merit?

Admittedly, I have yet to really figure out how I feel about the whole thing. I have been trying to apply lessons from this experience to my own life, and I believe it applies when we are trying to figure out where God is leading us. Where do we wait patiently for Him to make our paths straight and clear (Proverbs 3:6), and where do we charge boldly ahead into the unknown, trusting that He will keep us safe?

I call to mind plenty of occasions where David, Isaiah, and others encourage us to wait on the Lord (see Psalm 27:14, 37:34, Isaiah 40:31, Lamentations 3:25, 1 Corinthians 1:7). Trusting in His provision and His timing allows us to be content as we wait on the Lord. In fact, it is often our impatience and anxiety which pushes us to act prematurely rather than waiting until the appropriate moment.

But still, just as the blind woman had waited through five lights, how long do we wait? When do we know to take a step of faith and go in boldness? One thing I can assuredly critique about her example is that she did not ask for help or guidance. I was standing right there and others were in the vicinity, yet out of frustration she went for it. Acts 28:24-28 quotes Isaiah in reference to how the Israelites have gone dull, deaf, and blind. Yet if they were to turn toward God, He would heal them. We so often choose to remain blind.

Liam Morris is a skinny Irish guy, exiled to Western Massachusetts, who specializes in business development and web/social media marketing.  He plays guitar (piano occasionally) and is "lead bad dancer" for the worship team at MercyHouse, a growing church on the campus of UMass Amherst.