It's all in the timing

When I registered my daughter G. for Kindergarten they gave me a packet of number cards, alphabet books, shape recognition games and cutting exercises. So much homework, and she hasn't even started school yet!

One of the concepts she needs to learn is opposites. So when we're lying in bed we play the opposites game. I say "hot," she says "cold." I say "high," she says, "low."

But when I asked G. for the opposite of "late," she yelled: "Staying home!"

Touche'! Some days, between remembering snacks, finding car keys and throwing shoes on the right feet it seems a wonder we arrive at all! Then there's that 20 minute time warp between the front door and the car...

I've been thinking about God's timing lately. It was 5 years ago when I first asked my doctor why K. was so unusual and challenging to parent. After 1 1/2 years on a waiting list we saw a developmental pediatrician who put us on a 6 month waiting list for a child psychologist who couldn't tell us what was going on either.

Three years ago I wrote a prayer in my journal begging God to show us how to reach K. It wasn't until last spring, when I heard about Aspergers and asked for a specific assessment, that we received a diagnosis and relevant, helpful advice. I have no idea why it took years of painful misunderstandings.

And while we're on the subject: Why did God make his people wait so many years before he sent Jesus to earth? Why do some people only learn about God's love and forgiveness late in life after spending years of loneliness, addiction, anxiety or brokenness?

Some say God's perfect time is always right now. They believe if good things take too long coming it's because you've been wasting time waiting for a miracle and should start making better choices. If painful things happen, it's because someone evil used their freewill and you just happened to be in the way.

For me, a philosophy which gives bad, selfish or ignorant people (including myself) that much power over my destiny would make it hard to fall asleep at night. Our choices are important but they aren't everything, and we need a strength greater than our own to make good ones. And there is so much that is out of our control.

I like believing that whenever things happen it's God's timing. Challenges aren't blips, they're opportunities - to grow, to rely on him, to seek out and comfort others in the same situation. We might not figure out the reason for the pain, but there definitely is one. God's in control. Even when he asks me to wait.

Unlike the Schellenbergs, he's right on time.