God's timing . . .

 . . . is always perfect. Not always the way we want it. But, nevertheless, perfect. Last Wed. afternoon was a little disconcerting for my family and my neighbors. We love our house. We love our neighbors. We love our neighborhood. Unfortunately, crime has become a regular topic of conversation in our area of town. We know it's there. We are careful. And most days it's just an 'awareness' more than a 'concern.' Last Wed. brought it into focus as a major reality.

Our next door neighbor's house was burglarized by five guys, mostly teenagers, the youngest only thirteen years old. Our neighbor drove up to see them jumping out the window of his home. He grabbed a gun out of his truck and chased them. One of them shot at him. He shot back several times as he was chasing them. No one was hit. My husband called me at work to warn me. He didn't want me to drive up and find police cars and TV stations next to our driveway and think someone had died!

It was Wed night. I was exhausted from work and with what was going on right next door to my house, I almost didn't go to church. Imagine my surprise when I got there and one of the main topics of prayer was areas around the church that need God's kingdom to come, specifically where I live! As Michael, the pastor began to ask us to call out things that were keeping God's kingdom from coming in the areas around us, I immediately said, 'fatherless children.' I hadn't thought of it before that moment. I know it's a problem but this was a new awareness, a heartbroken burden for me now. I wonder how many of those kids who were being shot at by a frustrated, frightened homeowner had fathers who loved them?

Then another reality hit me. Bullets were flying next door to my house. What if one had gone through a window? My husband and daughter were home. What if? I wrote not long ago about how my life might be different if I never doubted, if I really believed God to be sovereign and acted on that belief. This night was just a small token of Him showing me that He always goes before me. Why did Michael specifically have prayer that night for Jackson? He had no idea what had happened in my neighborhood. At some point the potential danger my family was in would have hit me and it would have terrified me. But by using this prayer time, with dozens of others praying around me for my city, I was comforted by the presence of my Father. He already knew what would happen that afternoon. He knew that my daughter and I would need reassurance at that precise moment. He knew. And He provided. Yes, His timing is indeed ALWAYS perfect!