Timing, Part 1 of 3

I've been hearing a lot lately about TIMING.  Seems like so much disappointment is wrapped up in this word -- phrases like:

• You can't have what you want because it's not the right time...
• That's moving too fast, I need more time...
• Time will tell...
• In time, you will see...
• and the list goes on (fill in your own blanks)

So where exactly does timing fit in with VISION?  

Do these things work together for good purpose?  Or do we simply make excuses to make ourselves feel better when things don't go our way?  How do we talk about timing?

For the most part, it seems we discuss this topic primarily around things we love or feel passion about:  1) love life, spouse  2) children  3) purpose or work, job... major life events or things.
Hmmm.  Okay, let's begin with those basics:

Do you believe there's any such thing as 'poor timing.'  Why?

We are told that God's timing is perfect.  Okay, I can get on board with that.  That said I think we - collective we - mess it up through misunderstandings, poor choices, and misplaced free will which causes incredibly annoying delays that God then uses to teach us and bring us along.  Where it gets tricky is when there's more than one person involved, right?  :)

Syncing up both or multiple persons learning curve is not an easy task to be sure.  Nevertheless, this gets at the core of who am I? and why am I here?  Is it fate, destiny, or chance?  What does all this mean?


Yes, I'm in an existential mood but hang with me...

I believe we are born for 1) a purpose.  We are each called to fulfill a purpose... and when our purpose aligns with our job, for example, then we see real passion and joy.  Work no longer feels like work because we are doing what we were meant or created to do.  That's one area that is essential for leading a whole life.  Another area is our 2) Interpersonal Relationships - particularly, our desire to be with the person(s) we were meant to be with - usually a spouse/partner and then there's your children, family and friends or community.  The third area is our 3) spiritual relationship and it's health.

If we align ourselves in each of these areas with God's plan then miracles occur... the windows of heaven open and things flow, right?  It's called grace.  You know when it's happening.  It's like being carried by a beautiful stream through the perfect valley.  Everything - I mean everything - works!  You even get the parking space up close to work or school or the mall.

IF however, any one of these areas are off or out of alignment then we encounter delays, setbacks, challenges, etc.  You're swimming along and whamo you run into a board; get hit from behind at a stop light by a truck; get fired or promoted; etc.  Life's curveballs hit you.

Now with all that said, I do also believe there are negative, evil things that are operating in direct opposition to the universe's good plan and purpose for our lives that we must also recognize - but that's another blog topic!!  Regardless, the most powerful force that exists is God and God is love*.

*So you can go back and reread everything above and substitute the word love for God and the meaning is the same.*

Okay.  Now back to timing:

Timing inevitably involves some measure of patience, doesn't it?

The one thing I know I lack more than anything is patience.  I struggle with waiting and allowing things to unfold.  I am a Type A driven individual with a purpose and a plan for literally everything I do.  I believe that God granted us all a measure of faith and faith without works is dead... therefore I see it as my responsibility to do my part to move forward and to be the absolute best person I can be every single day.  The key here is the 'moving forward' part for me and my own desire to keep everything around me doing the same.

I was born on an Astrological cusp (if you follow).  I'm an Aries-Taurus which means I'm a Ram-Bull.  Think about those two animals... does anything in their character or behavior represent patience?  Nope.  

Yet, despite my general impatience, when I care passionately about something - like my vision for my life - I can wait almost indefinitely for it.  That doesn't mean I'll sit idly by, no - being patient is an active not passive endeavor.  What it does mean is that I will continually look inward to challenge myself to see and say:  Am I ready?

Am I really ready for what I've asked for?
Have I learned what I need(ed) to learn to appreciate this vision? this person? this job?
Do I have the tools needed for me to change to fully incorporate this new thing?
Can I appreciate this gift?

Then I work to distinguish between the circumstances (challenges) and the lessons or choices:  What things can I control?  What's my part or role?  Finally, I question my desire for urgency, immediacy.  Is my desire to influence the timing driven by fear or by love?

Am I afraid of running out of time?
or
Am I excited by the possibilities?

Within this context, I think it's so interesting that one of the greatest explanations of love 
begins with what it isn't and then states what it IS starting with a word related to timing: 
PATIENCE 

1 Corinthians 13:4 reads:

Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. (NIV)

Love suffers long, and is kind; love envies not; love vaunts not itself, is not puffed up (KJV)

The entire chapter/verse reads:

 1 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Love NEVER fails.

Isn't that a beautiful thing?  Love never fails.  Makes me smiling knowing that.

Think about every great 'Love Story' you know.  Your grandparents.  Parents.  Movies we relate to like "The Notebook,"  "Serendipity," "The Lake House," "Pride & Prejudice," "Persuasion," "When Harry Met Sally," etc etc etc.  Or think about every great success story you know?  A person follows their passion, risking everything they have - every dollar, every person - for their dream.  But isn't it incredibly interesting that they never get together until the last minute, until there's no possible hope, until every resource is exhausted...

Why?  Is that how life works?

Don't you root for that person?  The underdog... the one we all think to be foolish but who we all hope to be.  Why does it take until the virtual 'end' for everything to come together?  

What do ALL these stories or examples have in common?

Miscues on Timing.  Setbacks.  Need for a Choice.  A Risk... then AMAZING Rewards!

(or not if they don't choose to take the risk)

We can all see it in other's lives.  We tell the characters on the screen to take that Leap of Faith!  We can see what THEY need to do!  If ONLY...

We wait - anticipating the choice - but we can only stand it for the two hour movie and we demand a happy ending.  Why?  Because we want to believe.  We want to see that the risk is worth it and that the timing issues are resolved.  We want the heroes to be together in the end.  We want the sunset ride.

Because isn't that what we all hope for deep down? what truly matters to each of us? to be the hero of our own life...

So what have I learned?

Timing is a real factor... thus the need for PATIENCE, but timing doesn't determine anything.  In the end, there is a biblical and universal principle in place that determines the outcome regardless of the timing:  LOVE never fails.  That dream that you have will become reality if you choose to move forward with love and challenge yourself to learn what you need to be your best self along the way.

Love will determine the timing.

Trust in that because when you do, timing will be everything it's meant to be.  Trust in love... and be willing to risk all you have for it because ultimately that's really what dreams are about:  Finding your purpose in this life by being where you're meant to be, with whom your meant to be with, doing what you were created to do.  

These three things are what fulfills your heart and makes you whole - it's your perfect world.  If any one is missing or isn't right, you'll have an internal nagging that you can't dismiss no matter how hard you try.  God designed each of us for this and established this need deep within our souls.  We can't escape though we may delay it due to our own fears, insecurities, or mistakes.  So, the sooner you see and begin to act on this Vision for yourself, the faster it will become a reality.  

1. Align your mind with God's purpose (stop fighting your fate)
2. Take the risk by acting on it, and then 
3. Experience the unbelievable JOY that comes as a result.  The timing will begin to align as you do...

THINK.     WRITE.     BELIEVE.     ACT.

Reader Question:  How has timing impacted your life, positively or negatively?  I'd like to know! 

Part 2.  Impact of Choice on Timing