Perfected Timing

“How can a young person live a clean life? By carefully reading the map of your Word. I’m single-minded in pursuit of you; don’t let me miss the road signs you’ve posted. I’ve banked your promises in the vault of my heart so I won’t sin myself bankrupt. Be blessed, God; train me in your ways of wise living. I’ll transfer to my lips all the counsel that comes from your mouth; I delight far more in what you tell me about living than in gathering a pile of riches. I ponder every morsel of wisdom from you, I attentively watch how you’ve done it. I relish everything you’ve told me of life, I won’t forget a word of it.” Psalm 119:14 MSG

Ever have a day when things just seem to be slow?  The traffic is slow when you have plans to be somewhere.  The gas pumps are all full or not working right and you have to wait.  The line at the quick-mart is long and only one cashier is working.  You are in line for what seems like an hour at the local fast food restaurant.  It just seems as though some other force is trying to slow you down.  Well I recently just had one of those days but upon reflection afterwards, it was for a perfected timing!  God works so mysteriously sometimes we cannot see Him when He is intervening for us right in front of our own faces.  Let me show you my day:

Got up a few minutes late for my morning shift at work at 4:30am.  Prayed all the way to work and sang a worship song, gave my day to God so I would find no further frustration.  While I work I often write sayings on coffee cups and one lady called me around 7am.  As the phone was ringing I was wondering, “Great, who is calling in sick today?” because every day at work there has been three or four.  So when I picked up the phone, I was not expecting to  “receive”.  This person said, “I would like to know who wrote on my coffee cup this morning because I want to give them a message.”  Well a wall often goes up here for a moment because you never know how it will be received when you write “Be Blessed” on a coffee cup, some are offended.  Anyways she went on to explain that her husbands car had broken down that morning and she was upset and frantic but when she looked down at her coffee cup and saw the message her whole attitude changed instantly.  I explained I was the one and the flood of thank yous began.

So I continued my shift and got out at 1:30.  Had to go home an change and locate my daughter so we could get ready for a local Christian concert, Unity.  We have volunteered over the years and was anxious to go get a spot up close for the free day.  One thing led to another and I was getting farther and farther from my goal of getting there early.  Cars we traveling slowly in my perspective.  The gas pump I had stopped had did not work properly so I had to move. The location my daughter was at was sort of out of the way.  Had to stop at my dad house to pick up chairs.  I wanted to be in line by like 3pm and it looked like this was not going to happen so my mind was telling me, “Wonderful, now we won’t even see the stage or hear the bands.”  Ya know how it is.  Well we got the chairs from my dads and my son decides he does not want to go, meaning I need to drive all the way back across town to drop him off.  Plans were to visit my dad at the nursing home who was recovering from knee surgery and then drop my son off.  As I am on the expressway, I realize we forgot to stop at dads.  So, I drop my son off, drive all the way back to visit my dad, by now it is ten minutes to 4, the opening of the gates.

Trying to calm the inner me, we visit with dad for a little bit and are leaving the home when we encounter this older gentlemen in a wheelchair struggling to open a bag of chips.  I stopped in mid conversation with my daughter and helped him open his chips and continued on my way.  As we are driving down the road it hit me, God whispered in my ear, “Do you see why I delayed you today?  It was so you could open that mans chips.”  I was suddenly filled with joy!  God’s perfect timing allowed me to be used by Him in a way I never expected.

We made it to the concert and got a spot pretty close to the front, and of course we did not even utilize it until the very end as we were talking and sharing Jesus with others.  God is good and we need to focus our lives so that He is the center.  This world will soon pass away and everything in it will perish, what will remain is rubble.  But for those who listened to the Lord and gave things in His name will receive a crown.  God is watching.  He is waiting to see what we are going to do with what He gives us.  During my day I learned grace, patience, gratitude and found joy!  Wish I had more days like that!