JUST IN TIME

Large companies like Toyota use impressive techniques to perfect production processes. They avoid waste as much as possible, both in terms of time and supplies. Each vehicle that is manufactured has a customer waiting for it, speeding up inventory management as much as possible. This type of methodology is known as "just-in-time".

In recent months, I got a closer look at God's awesome timing. The first time was in Costa Rica. My husband and I were at the hospital waiting to be seen by a rheumatologist. We had made the appointment from the United States due to extremely severe pain in his back.

Anne, a close friend who is a nurse, insisted that we were seeing the wrong specialist. In her opinion, we should see an orthopedic doctor, instead of a rheumatologist. Due to lack of time, we kept the appointment. About 30 minutes before the appointment, we went to the cafeteria. Suddenly, the leg of the chair my husband was sitting on broke; he fell immediately and hit himself right where he had the pain. A doctor who was nearby gave an alert code and sent for a wheelchair. He insisted that my husband had to go to the emergency room to be examined. To my surprise, the doctor who saw him in the ER was an orthopedist! After reviewing the x-rays, the doctor prescribed a medication that finally relieved his pain. And as if that were not enough, we did not have to pay anything! It is worth mentioning that for the last 10 days, he had been dealing with a crippling pain in his back that not even morphine could take away.

God never ceases to amaze us with his very own “just-in-time” methods. He has astounding ways of straightening our steps and accomplishing his purposes.

Another curious example happened a week ago, when I wanted to send a card to one of my mentors. I found one whose legend and design caught my attention; however, it was a birthday card, not a “get well soon” card, which was what I wanted. In the end I decided to send it to her, even though it wasn't her birthday. On my way to the post office, I had a setback and then next day we went on vacation, so the card was sent much later than I planned. A week ago, I received an email from my mentor telling me that the card arrived exactly on her birthday!

Things like these let us see the hand of God and the perfection of his times. Although we feel that we have fallen short in certain things, God has the ability and the power to make everything work for our good, and He can do it in even more magnificent ways than we imagine.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose for them.

Romans 8:28 KJV

Once again, our Lord invites us to trust in Him, since He has our times in His hands and He is the only one who arrives “just-in-time”.

“My times are in your hand”

Psalm 31:15 KJV

Prayer: Lord, I entrust my time into your hands. Guide my steps and straighten my paths. Thank you for the certainty that you love me and have every detail of my life under control. I give myself to you with confidence.

© Astrid Gale