At Just the Right Time...

I'm on the left, 18 and ready to take the world by storm

Who has two thumbs and a 10 year plan?  THIS LADY.  I am a planner and a serial list-maker.  I like for everything to be prepped and laid out and ready to go well ahead of time.  (This is the point when Reality sticks its head in and asks, "How's that going for you?" To which I reply, "Shut up, Reality.  My lists and plans have nothing to do with you.")  I know my capabilities and I know my limits, and I have sought repeatedly to arrange my life accordingly.  It doesn't happen.

My plans leave no room for error.  My plans leave no room for other people.  (Just ask the man to whom I showed my 10 year plan, who gently pointed out that it left no room for him.  That man is now my husband.  Honey, I'm sorry it took me SO LONG to abandon that list.)  My plans are made to fit me, and me alone.

Prom 2001, Smiling because we are oblivious to the future

All my adult life, my plans have been disrupted and subsequently abandoned.  This used to throw me into a tailspin.  I would sit in the dust of my unfulfilled goal and wail.  At 22, as I was planning a wedding and preparing to marry the man who didn't fit into my plans, I was also returning to church.  I was coming back with fresh eyes and an open heart and the message I heard was one of surrender.  Stop trying to force my way and my vision (it wasn't working anyway), and join God's plan.  Connect in my time and place with the Way that has spanned all of human history.  Learn God's heart and see God's vision of what life is all about.

Romans 5:6 "When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners."

This is one thing I've learned about God:  He's an "at just the right time" kind of guy.  He's not a "plan ahead" fellow.  He's not a "10 Steps to a Better You" list maker.  He is the Creator of the Universe and He reveals Himself along the way.  And for good reason.  If I could see my entire life played out at the age of 16 or 20 or even now, I would run and hide and scream and cry.  I wouldn't want to go through the hard times.  I wouldn't want to bury the loved ones.  I wouldn't want to open myself up.  The life I live now would have terrified me at 16.  Everything needed to happen at just the right time.

My plan: Family picture
Reality: Tears and Gnashing teeth

At just the right time...I opened up.

At just the right time...love came in.

At just the right time...I became a wife.

At just the right time...I became a mother.

At just the right time...I realized my purpose.

At just the right time...I was called out of the pew and into the front.

God's timing is NOT my timing.  But God's plan is becoming my plan.  God's heart is becoming my heart.  And He is calling not just me, but YOU.  He is ready if you are willing.  He will meet you...at just the right time.

IF: LoveCanton