When
I was young, time past too slowly. I pushed to be on with life. I am
sure I am not alone in that. I pushed for school to start, I pushed
for Christmas to come, I pushed for school to be out and summer to
come. I pushed to be in the next level of classes.
Moving on in life was the dominate pressure. Time kept it's own
schedule and I had to wait, wait, and wait. It was agony.
When
I finally got out of school and I started working, time seemed to
settle in: Things happened in good time and there was no need to
rush. I was an adult and that was all I had been seeking as a child.
Time was my friend now.
Now
that I am more than officially old--declared by the letter I received
from AARP, welcoming me to old age—I am frantic to slow things
down. Time whizzes past me at lightening speed! Putting on the brakes
does not help at all; but I keep trying.
Was
it really ten years ago that I met and fell in love with several
Middle School and High School teens? Are they really out there now
ministering and working hard, even raising babies and trying live as
good examples and good teachers of the faith. Some are actually
teaching Middle Schoolers and High Schoolers. Wow. How did that all
happen in such a short time?
Was
it really five years ago that I helped with leading a group of five
year olds learning to be cheerleaders? Now they are ten and quickly
advancing through elementary school! The shoes I bought that matched
the uniform shirts we wore are now officially five years old. Whoa!
Too fast!
As
I read in Mark this morning, I was loudly reminded that God has a
timetable. He knows the beginning, the end and the circumstance of
all the goes on in our lives. Mark 1:14 After
John was put in prison,
Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The
time has come,” he said...”
What
struck me the loudest was that Jesus did not preach openly in Galilee
until John was no longer
preaching there! He did not
push His
Father's timetable! Neither did He try to stop what needed to happen
in the meantime.
One
of my greatest delights is that I know that God knew me before I was
born and chose me to be my mother's baby. He did not place me until
it was my time to be born. He did not withhold me just because I
would be born in sin. It was my time and my place to be born.
He
does not make mistakes and He does not waver. He sets the time. He
created time. He uses time. And He knows the end of time and all
things, including me.
He
knows when and where and under what circumstances I will die. There
is great comfort in that. Whatever happens to me, God will be in
charge of whether I live or He takes me home. There is great in that
truth.
I
have nearly died three times: The first and second times I was
completely unaware of how dangerous my problem was. The third time, I
knew exactly how much danger I was in: I just smiled and let the Lord
take care of everything. Obviously, He let me continue my life each
time. God is Good!
Trusting
God's timetable is one of
the hardest things we are asked to do. We live in time and we want
time! We want time to do all the things we want to do. We do not like
to be interrupted. We do not like to be delayed. Nor do we like to be
hurried. We have our own timetable entrenched in our heads (not
necessarily a bad thing), and changes to the table are very hard for
us.
But
our beloved Jesus always knew when the time was right. He knew when
to begin and He knew when to end. He asked the Father to override His
desire for the time to die to be put off. He went willingly to the
Cross to Die for our sins.
The
least we can do is trust His timetable for our lives; even when it
makes no sense at all to us. And that is much of the time.
Father,
may we realize everyday that you are in charge of our time. And may
we dedicate that time to you and to your timetable for us. May you
bring us humbly to your side and walk us through this life with
patience and trust. In Jesus Name, Amen.
