Perfect Timing Part 2

I am usually not a person who struggles to find words, but for some reason, I sat here wondering what to blog about. Odd, I know. The thoughts that keep coming back to me are about God’s perfect timing. I know I just blogged about that I think like 2 posts ago and I’m not trying to beat the subject to death, but it’s just something that my faith has grown in, so much!

I look back on my life. I look at where God has taken me, and taken Dan. I was born (or developed – doctors don’t know which one) with a heart defect. I didn’t even know it existed til I was 17. I played many years of basketball and became rather obsessed with the sport. I breathed it, watched it ALL the time, and it became a passion to say the least. My JV year of basketball, I tripped up as I was going for a layup and fell on someone’s knee during the game. I ended up breaking a rib – very painful! I was out for awhile, which I was frustrated about b/c with broken ribs, you can’t really do much about them, except just wait for it to heal. Well, what if I would’ve played the whole season? I could’ve been one of those players who died on the court! Now to Varsity. I had two other centers in front of me who were seniors, so I didn’t play much. God was protecting me! What if I had played all the time? I could’ve been again, one of those players who died on the court. So, I have my heart appt. the day of our basketball party – that’s when I find out the devastating news of needing to quit ANYTHING that keeps me active. I basically need to be a couch potatoe until they can find out further what is wrong. It was God’s perfect timing.

God knew he needed to take basketball away from me to perfect HIS plan in me. God knew I needed open heart surgery and used it grow my faith, my love for Him, and eventually my love for ministry. Because I couldn’t play basketball, I needed to find a whole new way of doing life so to speak – so God introduced ministry to me. It as His perfect timing. He gave me MANY opportunities in high school to serve Him and grow a love for serving others. That’s what led me to go to a Bible college.

God worked PERFECTLY in Dan’s life too! Dan went to Lake Michigan College for 3 years, but he only left there with completing 30 credits. Yeah I know, he definitely took the long route through college. He also was a whitewater raft guide for a couple summers. That’s where he grew. That crowd can be a little rough around the edges, so he really grew in his faith and in who he was. He came back and knew he wanted to become a youth pastor. That meant buckling down and getting a degree. So, he enrolled at RBC a few weeks before school started. It was God’s perfect timing.

That’s when we met…we both were sophomores then (though Dan is 2 years older than me). It was God’s perfect timing. God gave me someone who would understand what I had been through with my heart, but would not let it stop him from marrying me and see it as a barrier. I will never forget one night when we were hot tubing at his parents. He looked at my scar and told me that it made me so beautiful. He said it explained the beauty on the inside. I will NEVER forget that. I was rather fearful about telling a guy I dated about my heart b/c I didn’t want it to scare him. It didn’t scare Dan. God chose the perfect man for me.

Fast forward to now. I look all that has happened in our 4 1/2 years of marriage. All the frustrations, conversations, yet confidence in what God is doing in our life. God brought all this to our attention in HIS PERFECT timing. He knew maybe a year ago it would be too hard to handle. Maybe our faith wasn’t strong enough. BUT…GOD has our BEST INTEREST. He does nothing that will not be for OUR good. He acts out of pure goodness for us. Goodness doesn’t mean no trials.

Everything in my life God has orchestrated WITH PURPOSE. His does nothing without purpose – He has a reason for everything He does – though we may not always see that reason. I have no clue what our future holds and it’s scary to think about sometimes – but all I know is that God is NOT FAILED ME YET and HE NEVER WILL! As long as I keep on the straight and narrow path, He will see me through. What a MIGHTY God we serve!

I encourage you today to think back on your life. The ups and the downs. Think about how it has all led you up to today. How has God’s perfect timing played out in your life? How has your faith been stretched through God’s grand purpose in your life? It will make you sit back, be humbled, and want to just praise God for guiding you through every step of your life!