“Timing”

I am a big fan of having my children on a schedule. I like schedules, they work; the kids know what to expect, it creates stability on a daily basis, and I can function at a happier level. I have boy and girl twins that were born six weeks early and thus spent two weeks in the NICU before coming home. In that two weeks of our NICU stay, I learned a great deal about schedules; how effective and how necessary they are. At my children's birth the schedule was a necessity for their very life but as they have grown I have kept the schedule and just adapt with their age. I have since learned that the schedule is crucial for all of our lives even as they grow older.

I had recently been complemented on how easy it was for me to do my daughter's hair. My twins are almost two and a half years old and my daughter was sitting still and letting me do her hair with no issues. The onlooker noticed and commented, "Wow that is amazing that she sits there and lets you do her hair." I, of course, said "thank you" but then began to realize that she sits still and lets me do her hair because I have timed doing her hair to fall in line with breakfast or a snack. When my daughter is occupied with food she will sit there and let you do anything. On the other hand, if I do not time doing her hair with food then it is a completely different story to do her hair… I have seen that as I follow the schedule of the day that all is well most of the time but when I do not, then all is more likely to be on the disastrous side of experience!

Life as a believer is much the same way. As we follow the schedule that God has for us things go relatively smooth, they fall into place and you sense the peace of going the right way in spite of anything that tries to set you back. But when we go outside of the schedule or timing that God has for us things tend to be more disastrous in our experience! There is a verse in Genesis 21:2 that talks about Sarah and Abraham receiving the promise of God "at the very time that God had promised". There is something necessary and effective about timing, something crucial for our lives where timing is concerned.

The issue of timing is a complicated one with many sides. One thing I do know is that sticking to the schedule is crucial for my life and even the lives of those around me. Just like I know the timing that works best for my daughter I can trust that my Father in Heaven knows the timing that works best for me. The promises we have yet to receive are on the way at the very time God has promised!