Everyone is looking for the right time. Is now when I should send roses? Is this the right time for me to go and visit? Should I bring up the subject now or is there a better day, hour, or minute? No matter what happens, regardless of how prepared we are, and even when we know our view is the right one, we want our timing to be perfect.
Before you dismiss the idea of timing, it does make a difference! Showing up for a big game the day after is what I would call bad timing. Completing a project when the deadline has passed is not good. Forcing someone to have a conversation when he or she has an urgent matter to deal with is never the right thing to do!
I can see the examples playing out in the press. I experience the push-back when I try to force a resolution before either party is ready. It is obvious that being careful and cautious is important. Yet far too often I use it as an excuse to do nothing! Last night I needed a phone number, yet I didn’t want to take a short walk and ask someone for it. It took Whitney to volunteer, wander down the hall, ask the question, and return before I realized it was my own procrastination that has push her into action. I wonder if it stops there.
In a story of old a father “when he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and asked that he come down and heal his son, who was on the brink of death.” (John 4.47) He saw a window of opportunity, knew the urgency, and acted. He could have waited until Jesus came to the town in which he lived but he didn’t.
You and I have been given gifts of acceptance, family, and mercy by those who love us. We have windows where we meet others who have very little in their lives. Today is a perfect time to make a difference for someone else.
