Perfect Timing

With four kids we cannot afford huge birthday parties, so we usually allow each child to invite one or two friends over on his/her birthday. This past year, my oldest son wanted to invite his best friend over for a full day of fun that included some time at the arcade.

Most of the arcade games now dispense tickets after you play in order to redeem the tickets for prizes. It was no surprise that after a very short time each child was looking for the games that would offer the most tickets for their money. One such game had a spinning wheel with various size slots cut into it. The object was to time the release of the token so it could roll down the ramp and enter one of the slots. The thinner the slot, the more tickets you would receive. It wasn't an impossible game; it just took perfect timing, especially to get the token into the thinnest slot. Needless to say, and many tokens later, the kids failed to get the biggest prize and they moved on to something else.

It is amazing how timing plays a major role in our lives. Have you ever had a day where you were feeling down and a friend just "happened" to call or you opened the mail to get an encouraging note or card? Or maybe you just missed getting into an accident or maybe you walked into the store and were the hundredth customer. Everything around us involves perfect timing.

But sometimes we want to be the orchestrators of time. Yes, we need to be punctual to school and work, but sometimes we don't want to wait the time it will take to develop an idea or to mature in our characters. We are so used to a "get it now" attitude that we forget the value of waiting and growing.

Writing is definitely a career that needs perfect timing. It takes time to develop this craft and hone the fine edges of our skill. It doesn't come by rushing. It comes by dedication, persistence, and lots of rejections. But in time our efforts pay off and an article or even a book is accepted.

The timing of course is God's. I know for a fact He called me to write. My efforts and hard work to improve upon this talent will eventually be rewarded. He would not have opened the doors He has opened for me if this were not so. I need to trust Him and His perfect timing and not be impatient with the process.

Are you trusting God with the timing of your life?