Timing

Timing is everything.  It really is.

When the timing belt goes out in a car, that car won't do anything, it is dead as a doornail.  (Been there, done that!)  A car simply won't run without a timing belt.

Timing is everything.

Sometimes timing can change what would be a horrible thing into an actual blessing.  A few years ago, Ryan was up working in the attic and he fell through the ceiling.  He was bumped and bruised - sore for months.  He left a HUGE hole in our hallway ceiling that wasn't exactly easy to fix.  It could have been a horrible thing.  Except, in reality it was a true blessing.  It occurred while Ryan's parents were visiting and his step-father was kind enough to help Ryan fix the hole.  In doing so, Farl (a retired fire captain) noticed that there was a serious fire hazard going on with the wiring for the light fixtures in our hallway.  If Ryan hadn't fallen through that ceiling in that exact spot and if he hadn't done it while his parents were here, I would hate to think what could have happened to my family.  But instead, this horrible accident happened, and probably saved lives - a blessing in disguise.  All because of timing.

Recently I have been privy to two seperate conversations that discussed the same situation: Why did the Lord tell Nephi and his brothers to go back to get the plates after they had already made so much progress in their journey?  Why hadn't they just been told to get them before they left in the first place?  Timing.  One of the conversations brought out the point that when they left Jerusalem, the conditions weren't right for them to get the plates yet.  The way that they were acquired needed specific conditions and those things just hadn't come about yet.  Timing.  The second conversation pointed out that it was a necessary trial of faith for Sariah (and possibly others in their group).  If they had just had them from the start, that experience wouldn't have been there for those who needed the witness that the Lord truly was leading them. 

Timing is everything.

I think as we look at our own lives, we can see that sometimes we have situations similar to this.  Why didn't I know that before?  I would have just skipped this whole thing and gotten straight to what I needed to do!  But maybe we needed that learning experience.  We look at our lives and we have tunnel-vision.  But the Lord looks at our lives and sees the whole picture: our entire existence, other lives that are intertwined with ours... and He can tell what experiences we have now will help to provide necessary tools that we will need later. 

Timing is everything.  And when we realize that and that the Lord is in control of it all, it is so much easier to put our faith in Him and whatever situation we find ourself in.