“Life is all about timing… the unreachable becomes reachable, the unavailable become available, the unattainable…attainable.
Have the patience, wait it out. It’s all about timing”
(Stacy Charter).
From the Archives, Circa 2008
I couldn’t resist turning back the clock today. As the first week of school (for some, others have been going on strong for a couple of weeks) came and yellow school buses passed in front of my office window, I felt very emotional. Just last week, instead of putting my child on a yellow bus to school I put her on a Greyhound to yet another trek—this time she’s off to three countries, solo once again, in South America. I tried to climb in her back pack, but after last year’s “dead body in a suitcase, mam?” trek to Prague, I couldn’t coerce my way this time.
Brooke has now moved to St. Louis to live with her husband—funny how she wanted to do that, right?
And, last but not least, Grant has moved to Kansas and his alma mater, where he is serving as CEO of Two Tigers and a Truck and is Assistant Coach of CCC’s Women’s Soccer Team. Yes, I am one proud momma as I see him utilizing new gifts in business and leadership and still pursuing his dream and love for the game of soccer.
In Between: As Grant says, “His other office.”
So, with a reminiscent heart today, I share this post from way back in 2008. It breaks the “blog post rule of 500 words,” I admit. And, I’m sorry. I pray it is time well spent. I dedicate this to my dear Abe, who has since gone to doggie heaven.
Slowing Down
Every day, my faithful golden retriever, Abe, barks to let me know it is time to walk. His internal alarm clock magically alerts him. Works for me, because it draws me away from the computer. Fresh air does wonders for the mind. I grabbed his leash in one hand and my Ipod in the other. Eager to finish listening to Beth Moore’s teaching on The Anatomy of Defeat (which I highly recommend), I quickly pressed play and off we went!
Within minutes, Beth made an off-the-cuff comment that struck me. “I know one thing,” she said, “if something isn’t on God’s calendar, I don’t want it on mine. Can I get an ‘amen’?” For the next twenty minutes or so, I thought about that statement. If it isn’t on God’s calendar. . . I wonder if God has a Blackberry in which he records his plans for his children? Now I know God wouldn’t have a Blackberry, but it is an interesting thought, you must agree!
Sitting in front of my computer is a daily calendar. I keep it there in order to remind myself of all the activities of my family’s life. Essentially, it is my brain. And, it is a constant visual that keeps me balanced and sane. I learned years ago that overcommitment is a surefire way to self-destruction. Knowing this, though, doesn’t keep me from the temptation to overcommit. I should do more. Serve more. Give more. Pretty soon, these tempting thoughts throw me into a tailspin. A tailspin that isn’t from God.
Should I Be Doing More?
At dinner tonight, I asked my husband if he thought I should be doing more. In his wise, rock-solid way, he spoke, “Janell, I don’t see how. You have all you can handle. Three children graduating in three months. Your plate is full. Chill.”
I have learned through the years to trust him. To trust his sense of balance. To trust his covering over my ministry and life. To trust his sense of timing.
So, somewhere in between my refreshing morning walk, Beth’s wise spiritual advice, and my husband’s calm, sensible reassurance, I tamed the tailspin of tempting thoughts and found peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, 14-15 (MSG Bible), says it this way:
There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:
A right time for birth and another for death,
A right time to plant and another to reap,
A right time to kill and another to heal,
A right time to destroy and another to construct,
A right time to cry and another to laugh,
A right time to lament and another to cheer,
A right time to make love and another to abstain,
A right time to embrace and another to part,
A right time to search and another to count your losses,
A right time to hold on and another to let go,
A right time to rip out and another to mend,
A right time to shut up and another to speak up,
A right time to love and another to hate,
A right time to wage war and another to make peace.
I’ve also concluded that whatever God does, that’s the way it’s going to be, always. No addition, no subtraction. God’s done it and that’s it. That’s so we’ll quit asking questions and simply worship in holy fear.
Whatever was, is.
Whatever will be, is.
That’s how it always is with God.”
So, when I crawl under my cozy comforter tonight and close my eyes, I will rest in God’s timing.
I will remind myself that “if it isn’t on God’s calendar, I don’t want it to be on mine.” I will trust God’s superintendence over my life. Over my calendar. Over my ministry. Over every little detail of my life.
Don’t be in a hurry. Don’t feel pressured to have a full calendar – with every little square written on. Give God a day or two and let him fill it with his presence. Let him surprise you with his love.
Let me know what happens! I am praying and expecting God to do great things!
“If one advances confidently in the direction of one’s dreams, and endeavors to live the life which one has imagined,
one will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
-Henry David Thoreau