Timing

It is everything.  It's the moment I was born, and the moment I gave birth. It's the moment I met my husband, and the moment my children met their spouses. It's the moment that I made split-second decisions in my life that changed its course.  Timing.

If I hadn't been there at that time would I have met you?  Would I have gone to that school, that church, taken that job or bought that house?  And is there a way to control timing?  Or is it controlled by someone else?  I know that I don't control it, how could I?  I don't even know what is on the other side--of time.

I believe (through my experiences in life) that God controls my timing.  I say my timing because I am specifically talking about me--my life, my time on this earth.  He knew when I would be born, into what household, what country, what income bracket, what year, He knew everything.  So, my conclusion is that He controls the timing of things in my life--all things.

I can look back over my life as a child and while my parents were making the decisions for our family--God was still in complete control over me.  He had a time for each and every circumstance that happened in my life.  I believe that He handpicked the people that came into my life and therefore He chose my husband for me.  There was a precise moment when I walked into a room, looked up and saw him.  One moment--timing.

I think about timing a lot when I am driving.  Especially in traffic.  I don't get anxious in traffic the way some do.  I am a thinker--my brain goes into overdrive and as I sit there I always ponder this thought--
there is a reason I am sitting here and not there.  I see it as a form of protection.  If I had been ahead of God's schedule maybe I would be the one in the accident up ahead rather than being the one waiting for the traffic to clear.  Honestly--that's how my brain works.  And if that's true--working in that same direction of thought--then it has to be true working in the reverse. Had I been the one in the accident--wouldn't that be God's timing for me too?

I like the idea of God's timing rather than my own.  I feel safer that way.  I don't feel the urgency to manipulate circumstances.  I can rest in the knowledge that He has my best interests at heart and that He'll set up the right timing for everything in my life.  Maybe I'm a little naive that way--relying on someone else to take control, but that's OK with me.  I don't mind--because timing is everything.

I love the way it's described in the Bible:

For everything, there is a season,

a time for every activity under heaven.

A time to be born and a time to die.

A time to plant and a time to harvest.

A time to kill and a time to heal.

A time to tear down and a time to build up.

A time to cry and a time to laugh.

A time to grieve and a time to dance.

A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.

A time to embrace and a time to turn away.

A time to search and a time to quit searching.

A time to keep and a time to throw away.

A time to tear and a time to mend.

A time to be quiet and a time to speak.

A time to love and a time to hate.

A time for war and a time for peace.