On October 1st, my dad passed away. He had stage four lung cancer, and, yes, in hindsight, I should have been more prepared for his passing, but I genuinely believed that he had more time, that we had more time. His death has taught me many things about time, about God, about God’s timing. What have I learned? God’s timing is always perfect. That’s it, that’s the lesson. In a sense, I believe it’s been the lesson that we humans have struggled to learn. Allow me a moment to illustrate how God used the death of my father to teach me this lesson.
Growing up, my father was my hero. I can truly say he was an amazing dad. He taught me to kick a soccer ball, bought me my first camera, and encouraged me to live a life worthy of God and use my gifts and talents for Him. However, his later choices created a rift in our relationship as I entered adulthood. Our relationship started to mend after the death of my mother; it wasn’t the same, but it grew into something beautiful that reflected where we both were in our lives and in our relationship with Christ. So when I say I felt cheated when he died, I don’t mean it as a slight to God, but as sorrow I feel at the things we didn’t get to say and do.
“And the Lord answered me: Write the vision; so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.” Habakkuk 2:2-3
God’s timing is perfect, and His plans for us are always on time, even if they seem delayed in our human view. My dad’s wife, Margret, didn’t want to give away his things or donate them; she let my brother and husband look through his closet and choose what they wanted to keep as a way to remember my dad and hold on to a piece of him. Later, my sister-in-law asked if she could have an item too, and his wife said, “The clothes are for the boys.” I felt a bit sad at the answer, because I wanted a keepsake from my dad too, but I didn’t push because I respected her right as his widow and wife to make the decision she did. On our last night, Margret called me into her room and handed me one of my dad’s most precious possessions: his England Premier League shirt. She’d put the shirt aside for me. What Margret didn’t know was that my dad taught me to kick a soccer ball and had instilled in me a love for the sport that I have to this day. She had no idea how special this shirt would be to me—but God did. God did.
Friends, sometimes we can miss God’s perfect shirt because we’re too busy raiding the closet. It felt like I was going to miss out, but the truth is that shirt was mine from the beginning because it was set aside for me, and had I walked into the closet, I would have missed it. Don’t miss God’s perfect shirt for you. His timing is perfect, and it WILL NOT DELAY.
So, what am I thankful for today? Closets, the English Premier League, Margret, and, of course, God’s perfect timing.
