Perfect Timing

Seventeen years ago, on a football field, while taking the President's Physical Fitness Test, I ran the fastest mile in my high school for a female. 7 minutes and 15 seconds. 7 minutes and 15 seconds. Forgive me, I just needed to hear it again because I'm pretty sure I haven't run a mile that fast since. At that moment, I decided running was my sport. For one, I could actually do it and do it pretty well. While I didn't have the confidence to pursue running as anything more than a hobby, a means of keeping in shape, I do remember the little milestones accrued as I became more proficient at my sport of choice. The first time I ran six miles without stopping. The first time I ran ten miles. My first 5-K. I also remember when, over ten years ago, in college, I decided that I was going to run a marathon.......one day.

A couple of weeks ago, I sat in my Monday morning bible study watching Beth Moore speak on a large projection screen. My women's group is studying her Psalms of Ascent series, and in this particular lesson, she kept driving home the point, "Ours is a God of timing, girls. Ours is a God of timing." As I prepared for the marathon and even after, I couldn't stop thinking about that phrase, a God of timing. Through my marathon journey, I had discovered just how loudly this rings true.

While I'd wanted to run a marathon for 15 years, it wasn't until about 6 years ago that I moved to a city that hosts a marathon, actually bought a book on training and well, began training. That same year, I came down with pneumonia. Downtrodden, but not defeated, I trained again the next year only to meet the same fate. The following year I broke my ankle while running, of course, and was unable to run for three months. Faced with one training obstacle after another, I am sure there were times I lifted my hands to God and asked, "why?" or maybe, "why not?" It seemed to me that God was against me reaching my goal....or was he?

My father-in-law parked his motor home downtown for the race this year. My husband and I avoided yucky, gross port-a-potties the moments before the race thanks to the sparkling clean bathroom on the coach. While waiting for her aunt to finish a five-hour run, my three-year-old niece had a place to go to the bathroom several hundred times. My husband and I had a clean, warm place to shower immediately after the race, which made hanging out with friends and family downtown much more comfortable. A was able to play safely and eat lunch without my mother-in-law having to drive her home and back. This wouldn't have been possible two, three, four years ago because my in-laws didn't own the coach.

My husband, his best friend, and my sweet baby girl (sitting in her stroller) ran mile 25 of the race with me. Had I not broken my leg, I probably wouldn't have been able to conceive because of all the training, and A would not have been there to share in my joy. My husband's best friend, Brent, who had just completed his own first marathon, would not have understood just how important it was for me to have that support at that exact moment in the race. His own experience enriched mine. And most importantly, I don't think four, five, or six years ago, I would have been in a place in my own life where I could have run with grace and faith. My own relationship with Christ needed to be at this place for me to truly lean on my faith to get me through the marathon and for this accomplishment to truly glorify God.

As I look at how perfectly all of this fell into place, I understand now exactly what Beth means when she says, "Ours is a God of timing." Girls, (and boys) indeed he is. And I've learned through this experience that he isn't a God of my timing, or your timing, he is the God of His timing and fortunately for me in my folly, that is true. He is the God of perfect timing and I praise Him for it! Now instead of asking why, I think I'm learning to say, "whenever you're ready, Lord, just make me ready."