In my oh-so-humble opinion, there are two types of people in this world:
Ones who DO worry about being on time...
and ones who DON'T.
In other words.....
There exists one group of people who believe that a given time is an actual commitment, and if they are supposed to be/see/do something at a committed time....they do everything possible BY PLANNING AHEAD to make sure that happens.
Then there exists the other group of people.
They see time as a loosely arranged set of possible parameters into which they may or may not conform their schedule irregardless of who/what might be expecting them.
Now.
Since I am sure that it's impossible to tell which group I might consider myself to be in....I'll just go ahead and tell you.
I like to be on time.
I try really hard to be where I'm supposed to be at the time I promised someone I'd be there.
Do I always make it??
Not so much.
Do I often get uptight and frustrated and annoyed (at myself and the other people who are RUNING my punctuality goal)?
Sorta yes.
(which gives credit to the theory that the "other group" of people tend to be a lot more fun and laid-back and enjoyable then people like me.....but that's another post for another day.....)
So.
I certainly don't believe that being on time is a bad thing.
In fact....I think it shows respect, ability to plan well, and follow-through.
But I've also realized this....
That most times in life, an extra
And the other thing I just so happen to know.....
My timing is NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT God's timing.
I can't tell you how many times I've gotten my 3
So.
Do I give into road rage and smack the dashboard?
Do I mutter choice words under my breath?
Do I holler at the kids so I have someone to take my anger out on?
Do I give up the drive and go to breakfast at Shake's?
Not usually.
I take a deep breath and say.....
"Hey. There is a reason we can't go down this street. There's a reason why we are going slow. There is a reason why the train stopped us. How do we know that God isn't protecting us from something further down this road? Maybe we should thank Him for the delay....huh?"
(See...I know I have neuroses....but I really do try not to pass them on to my kids. And even when I am not overly thrilled about something....I try to only let OUT things that will help them react in the way I know that I should react...and then hopefully I can learn from them as I re-train my way of thinking. I am so beyond imperfect....but efforts ARE being made...)
This morning I received this email from my dad.
Me (in a tizzy) : God, can I ask you something?
GOD: Sure.
Me: I'm sorry, God.
Me: Promise you won't get mad?
GOD: I promise.
Me (frustrated): Why did you let so much stuff happen to me today?
GOD: What do you mean?
Me: Well I woke up late,
GOD: Yes
Me: My car took forever to start,
GOD: Okay....
Me (growling): At lunch, they made my sandwich wrong and I had to wait
GOD: Hmmmm..
Me: On the way home, my phone went dead, just as I picked up a call
GOD: All right
Me (loudly): And to top it all off, when I got home, I just wanted to soak my feet in my foot massager and relax, but it wouldn't work. Nothing went right today! Why did you do that?
GOD: Well let me see..... the death angel was at your bed this morning and I had to send one of the other angels to battle him for your life. I let you sleep through that.
Me (humbled): Oh...
GOD: I didn't let your car start because there was a drunk driver on your route that might have hit you if you were on the road.
Me (ashamed): ............
GOD: The first person who made your sandwich today was sick and I didn't want you to catch what they have, I knew you couldn't afford to miss work.
Me (embarrassed): Oh.....
GOD: Your phone went dead because the person that was calling was going to give a false witness about what you said on that call, I didn't even let you talk to them so you would be covered
Me (softly): I see God
GOD: Oh and that foot massager, it had a short that was going to throw out all of the power in your house tonight. I didn't think you wanted to be in the dark.
GOD: Don't be sorry, just learn to trust me.........in all things, the good and the bad
Me: I WILL trust you God
GOD: And don't doubt that my plan for your day is always better than your plan
Me: I won't God. And let me just tell you God, thank you for everything today.
GOD: You're welcome child. It was just another day being your God and I love
looking after my children.
I read it to the kids while they ate breakfast.
They liked it.
Then my mother-in-law came to drive them to school and I told them to
"HURRY UP OR YOU'LL BE LATE!!!!!!"
Oh well.
Work in progress.
God's timing isn't just about "being on time" though.
It's also about His will in general.
His plan.
You see we might ask things like:
Why did that train stop on the tracks and block us???
Why didn't I get elected student body vice-president???
Why didn't that guy take our offer on the lot???
Why did our home get destroyed in the tornado???
Why didn't our home get destroyed in the tornado???
Why doesn't he/she want to be my partner anymore???
Why did my computer totally die???
Why didn't I get the job???
They are all good questions.
God isn't ever mad when we ask any of them.
It's just that....
His timing,
His will and
His plan
may not be things we can see or understand.
Now sometimes...after these event have occurred....we may be lucky enough to understand the WHY.
Sometimes not.
Honestly though.....I really love it when I can.
I love when (on the rare occasion!) I can gracefully make it through a trial....giving thanks the whole way....and then later REALLY get why it happened.
That's so awesome.
Like when your email goes down and you have tried and tried and tried to send something and it WON'T go and you're so irritated because now everything is late and blah blah blah.......
....then you realize you had addressed it to the WRONG person.
Or you are late to something no matter HOW hard you tried nothing (and nobody) cooperated and you're frustrated because you thought you had it all planned out....
....then you bump into a person (who is also late) with whom you've been trying to make contact and could never reach.
Or you make it through a terribly sad and heart wrenching experience that seriously made you question God and whether or not you could go on.....
....and you meet someone who is going through the same thing and you can talk to them and hold their hand and counsel them and let them know that they CAN make it.
My
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6
I am not saying that God causes all of these trials.
No no no.
I am saying that He does do things to protect us...
and that every bad thing has something good that comes out of it.
We may or may not get the chance to see that "good".....
But trust me.
It's there.
So a summary.......
Being on time is good.
Being on God's time is better.
And being luck enough to see the "Why's" .....
is a really cool thing.
And did I mention?
Being on time is good.
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