In God’s forbearance, everything happens at the proper time and in the fulness of time, God sent His only Son to be born of a woman so that all those born of women…might be redeemed from sin and hell.
But the proper time sometimes involves waiting and having patience and boy that’s something we don’t like doing.
We hate waiting for that Amazon package to arrive. I’ve grown to become really irritated with the Post Office and its seeming inability to deliver things in a timely manner. Nobody likes having to wait for that vacation you’ve been looking forward to. And nothing can try one’s patience like recovering from an illness or a surgery.
Yet, things will come about in their proper time…not our time necessarily...but in their proper time and St. Paul informs us that God sent His Son into our world at the proper time and that He will return to judge the living and the dead also at the proper time. When that’s going to be is anybody’s guess.
But having patience isn’t a virtue many of us have.
But if you don’t mind, I’d like to share a true story relayed in an article by a Mr. Will Krieger. I’ve condensed it considerably for the sake of time, but as the story goes, a New York City cab driver at the end of his shift was asked to make one more pickup.
Arriving at an old residence, he waited, and waited, honked his horn, considered pulling away and going home, but finally left his cab and banged on the front door where he heard an elderly voice, “Just a minute.”
The door opened and a small woman in her 90’s appeared with but a small bag. The cab driver couldn’t help but notice the house looked as though she wasn’t coming back…sheets covered the furniture and wall hangings had been removed.
Throwing her bag in the trunk they started off, and she asked him to drive her through town…a long, winding journey that could take hours…not exactly what the driver wanted to hear at the end of a long day.
“I’m on my way to hospice care at the nursing home,” she informed him. “I don’t have any family left and I’d just like to take one last look before my time comes.”
Reaching over, the cab driver shut off the meter and drove her for hours past the place she once worked, where she met her husband, where she grew up, and the driver patiently listened as she reminisced, and finally they reached the nursing home.
“How much do I owe you?” she asked, “Nothing,” the man replied, “There will be other passengers.” Almost without thinking, he gave her a hug, and she simply said, “You gave an old dying lady a little joy.”
Heading home, the cab driver thought, what if she’d gotten the angry impatient driver? Or the one who would have refused to drive her around for hours because they were anxious to get home? That was him by the way…
But for some strange reason he had a little patience, a little empathy in a society where it’s sorely lacking and had a profound interaction with someone who probably affected him far more than he for her…the importance of having a little patience with your spouse, siblings, children, friends, because those may very well be your last interactions with them…for in the proper time…God will call our name or those whom we know.
There is one thing all the money in the world cannot buy…and that’s time and only God knows how much of it you have.
As we celebrate All Saints’ Day on November 2nd and Thanksgiving at the end of this month, let us take the time to slow down and to appreciate our days and holidays with those we love realizing that it may very well be the final time we get to do so on this side of eternity.
Until next month….
Pastor Roloff