In Ecclesiastes 3:11, we find, “God has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”
I am a youngest child, so I do get impatient when things take (in my estimation) too long. I can preach about God’s timing, but I really prefer that things get done on Beth’s timing. I’m just being honest here. When I think a task should be done, I really think it should be done. I’m not a last-minute kind of person, so I plan and carry out plans in advance. My mother taught me that if you are not 20 minutes early for something, you are already late. That is my mindset.
However, plans can change. Sometimes because I think they should, and often because someone else thinks they should. We had plans last summer to travel to Seattle. We were going to take in some Brewers games, go to the national parks nearby, and explore what Seattle has to offer. But when I had to have the ankle surgery in June, those plans went out the window. My surgeon said, “No!” for good reason, but it was still a big disappointment.
We knew that we could not go to Seattle this year because the Mariners play in Milwaukee, instead of the other way around. We also figured that we couldn’t afford it because of the trip to Scandinavia that we just took. So, we are kind of looking at traveling there next year when the Brewers would once again be scheduled to play there.
Here is where God’s timing is amazing. Before we went on our Scandinavian trip, we knew that everyone else on the trip was a group from a church, but we had no information beyond that. Turns out, that group was from an ELCA in the Seattle area! Now we have lots more information about the Seattle area, and we have several invitations to come and visit. Now, whenever we end up going to Seattle, we will have lots more to do and see and lots of friendly people to visit.
I am always amazing at how God’s plans work out. Sometimes I see it right away, and sometimes I have to look back in order to realize how it happened. But always I praise God for that very precious timing that I don’t always understand.
Pastor Beth
