God is Always on Time

(My grandbaby, Naomi, moments after her birth. Perfect timing.)

God is Always on Time

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.

Ecclesiastes 3:1

            Have you ever wondered about the timing of significant events in your life? Is there a reason why situations occur when they do? Or maybe you’ve wondered why things aren’t happening when you want them to? I’ve been there many times in my life.  

            Recently I’ve been thinking about the fact that my life is probably more than half over. Ok, if I live to be 100, it’s sixty-one percent over. I feel shocked about this. This moment has come too soon.

            But I’ve learned over the years that there is a time and a season for everything. Several years ago I was privileged to hear a sermon given by a preacher who was from a different country. His topic, given with his accent, sounded like this: “Gott ees o-wais on ti-em.”  Those words sounded almost magical to me that night. Maybe it was the accent, but the truth of the statement found a home in my heart.

            There have been many times when I’ve questioned God about the timing of circumstances in my life. Most of the time it took years to find out why things happened when they did.

            When I was fourteen, I had to move away from the home and many friends I loved. If you’ve been a fourteen year old girl, or know one, you are aware that friends are the most important people in life! I wondered then why it had to be.

            At the age of twenty, I lost the precious baby I wanted so much.

            At the age of thirty-one, my five year old son died.

            At the age of thirty three, my fifty one year old mother died.

            At the age of forty one, I became a grandmother, long before I planned to.

            When I was forty seven, I sat at the bedside of my one hundred and one year old grandmother and wondered why God was making her live so long in her world of dementia.

            When I was forty nine, I was offered a wonderful job, but it was sixty miles from my home.

            There have been many times in my life I when I’ve asked God, “why now?” Other time I’ve asked “why not now?” I often felt confused and disillusioned. Sometimes I was even angry about God’s timing, and I questioned His purpose.

            But now, in retrospect, I understand. There were things God wanted me to learn. 

            I see now that if I hadn’t moved at the age of fourteen, I would not have met the best friend I’ve ever had.

             I understand if I hadn’t lost that first baby, the timing of my other four children, and would have been off, and I wouldn’t have them to love today. (And I wouldn't have the nine grandchildren I have today. Thank you God for your perfect timing!)

            I still don’t know why my son had to die at the age of five. But his death increased my faith, and I trust that God will someday tell me why.

            If my Momma hadn’t died at the age of fifty one, I may not have been inspired to do hospice nursing, and had the opportunity to give comfort, as it was given to me.  

            And that grandbaby I got at forty one from a daughter I thought was too young to be a mom? What a blessing she’s been to me! In her college entrance essay she wrote about me. She said Rosa Parks and I have been an inspiration in her life. I hope she knows that anything I’ve done to inspire her is minimal compared to the joy she has brought me.

            You may wonder, like I did, why God lets old people live for years in a state of confusion. But when I think of the last few years of my beloved grandmother’s life, I know her dementia did not stop her from giving and receiving love. And her life gave many an opportunity to be compassionate. God knew why Gramma needed to stay.

            And the job sixty miles from my home? The timing was perfect, even if the distance wasn’t. I had the most glorious times with God during those long commutes. That job helped me through my empty nest years, and gave me experiences that taught me so much about life and love. God’s timing was perfect again.

            And now, I’m a writer. To be quite honest, I never had a passion to write, and I don’t quite understand why God is leading me to do it. But I do feel passionate about God’s direction and perfect timing in my life. My prayer today is that someone will be encouraged by the truth that “Gott ees o-wais on ti-em.”

© 2013 B.J. Young

(This article was published in the November issue of Living Today by Front Porch Publishing