Reason #115

In His time

In His time

He makes all things beautiful in His time

Lord please show me everyday

As you're teaching me your ways

That you do just what you say in your time

I used to sing this song in church when I was a little girl. It's funny how so many of the songs from my childhood have stuck with me. I think the simple truths and words helped me to remember them. And as I sit in bed tonight, with Scout curled up against my legs, listening to the rain outside, I think about His time.

I must admit that I tend to operate on the late side of time. I have good intentions to be on time and I really do try, but even if I leave 5 minutes early I still manage to be 10 minutes late. I'm not quite sure how I picked up this habit of tardiness. I come from parents who run like clockwork. They are always on time if not early. My dad pretty much has his arrival down to the exact second. Really, I don't know how he does it. But I always know that I can depend on my parents to be where they say they'll be when they say they'll be. And I apprecaite their dependability.

I like to live by the motto, "Better late than never," but I would prefer to be the only one to live by it. And as I think about the rain tonight, I think about what an answered prayer it is. We've been in a drought for so long. Shriveled up, dying, and in desperated need of water. So we've prayed and we've asked and we've continued to pray and ask. And He has sent the rain, and I'm thankful that the rain is better late than never. Sure, we could have really used it last year when the whole state was being consumed by fire, but I won't complain about getting the rain now. In fact, I probably appreciate it more now because we've been asking and waiting for it to come for over a year. And it came, in His time.

And I realize how often I replace the words of my childhood song with "my" time. Do it now, Lord. Answer this prayer now. Make things beautiful now. I know you can do it, I know you will do, so just go on and do it now...Do just what [I] say, in [my] time.

But maybe I need to remember my motto. My method of timing. Maybe somethings really are better late than never. And tonight, I sat in a coffee shop just amazed at God's plans. Once again, He's answering prayers. But I'll admit, I've had my frustrations. I felt like I've been praying these prayers for so long just wondering how and when He would answer them. In His time. And so I kept praying and asking and praying and asking. But His timing is perfect. His plan, too. And I realize how selfish I am with His time, as if I'm the only one affected by it. But I see that others are praying, too. Others are asking and waiting and the timing has to be perfect. The timing has to be right. And so often I get irritated when I have to wait. When the timing isn't mine. But what's late to me might be early for someone else. What someone else has been waiting on for so long might be at the perfect time for me. And I remember that just like my earthly father, my Heavenly Father has it down to the exact second, and He's always dependable. And maybe, just maybe, He knows that if I have to wait a while, I will apprecaite it more when it comes.

So I keep praying and trusting and trying not to look at the minute hand on my watch. Trying to remember that He will do just what He says in His time.

115 - Because He is always on time.

 ^"Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end." Ecclesiastes 3:11