Sometimes I wish that time was like a best friend's car. I don't want to be in control all the time, but once in a while I want to take 'er for a spin! In life, I tend to be somewhat of a control freak until the point at which I actually gain control... and then I just get tired of the organization and am happy to give the reigns back to the original owner. Time is no exception to this rule.
Unfortunately, in life, in fire service, and in our service to God, that is not an option. My wife blogged recently about a particularly frustrating night working on fundraising. No doubt this was a particularly frustrating night, because her entire plan for the evening's chain of events was broken by an unfortunate oversight at Wal*Mart. You might have also noticed that I was noticeably absent from any of the afore-blogged events. I have not become a deadbeat to my family's fundraising efforts, though, I was definitely occupied that evening. Just about the time my wife was forgetting her ink cartridges, a familiar set of long tones followed by dispatcher's voice blurted out over my pager. "Possible structure fire; occupants unknown." I spent from approximately 6pm Friday night until 4am Saturday morning fighting fire in the driving rain and frequent lightning. In all honestly, a weekend fire can be a good stress release (though certainly a tragedy) after a long week; however, this particular week was promising to end with a laundry list of to-dos... It certainly was the poster child of bad timing. In fact, that entire night was a case study for the art of bad timing.
**digression, for clarity's sake**
That particular night, only four responders from Potosi responded due to many people being on vacation, at work, or dealing with family issues. Bad timing #1. Our neighbor, Buffalo Gap was already in another fire fight when this page was sent out. Bad timing #2. We were forced to rely on Abilene Fire Department (who was also busy with their own community to protect) to assist. Another department was requested, but never responded. Bad timing #3. In addition to low staffing, the fire occurred in an area with no hydrants. Bad placement (ergo timing) #4. No hydrants = no water to put the fire out. No staffing = nobody to drive the tankers to water shuttle from the hydrants two miles away. Every attempt at an attack led to the same problem... running out of water and waiting on trucks to bring more. This was yet another example of timing issues.
**regression, if that's what you call it**
On a night when I am promised the possibility of a relaxing pizza, coke, and a movie with my beautiful bride, I instead spend the night fighting fire. All this, again, is an example of why volunteering is both a blessing and a curse as well as an all-around tiring job.
I am reminded that we are never promised good timing by God. A teacher of the law asked Christ one day if he could go where Christ was going. In a round about way, Christ said yes... the man's response? First let me bury my father. Many ask to be part of the Kingdom, but few are prepared for God's response. It's usually simply a matter of timing. Kenny Chesney says it this way:
My wife said it another way. In a recent private email response to a dear friend's blog post about missions and support, my wife spoke about the lessons our team has learned about timing. I could spend the next half hour describing those lessons, but here is the synopsis:
Our original launch date was Fall 2007. Our team did not complete forming until January 2008 and still has one training module to complete this Fall. Our launch date got moved all the way to January 2010, but we will still miss this launch date.
Why? Because God has control of the timing and we do not. This posting might sound a little more rambled than my others, and certainly has no clear cut ending. Maybe that is because it is a lesson I am still learning.
The point, however, is that in life, fire service, and missions, I do not have the luxury of optional controls as I described in my opening paragraph. In life you get two choices: 1) God's at the helm and we get to join in his exciting journey, or 2) We take control, and we fail to fulfill God's plan for us. I often provide lip service to wanting the former to occur, yet in the end selfishly fall into the latter.
Where do you fall? Are you comfortable with letting God take control of the timing in your life? If so, congratulations, and, How? Or, are you like me, and want to take control when convenient? I can honestly say, I have met many people in both categories. I applaud those who have intentionally formed in themselves the ability to wait on God's plan to come to fruition. I think I am still riding the fence as of the time of this posting.
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