In Your Time or His?

As I lazily laid around yesterday watching the hubby get dressed to go out, I noticed that one of his Bibles was on the bed. Not having any idea what I wanted to read inside, I flipped it opened and ironically it opened to Ecclesiastes 3:

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

I say I ironically opened to this passage because this topic of TIME has come up a lot. As of late, I've been reflecting on where I was in my life from 2005- 2010; how my thoughts, way of doing things and way of viewing things have evolved. I can safely say that this issue of Time was one of my biggest hang-ups back in 2005.

Back in 2004, I was 22 years of age and had just graduated from college. I was full of hopes and dreams of marriage, kids, great career, etc. I just knew that by the time I reached 24/25 I'd be married and happily on my way to being a Mom with a nice house, dogs, etc. Sadly, a dose of reality set in the following year when I was at a job I hated with a supervisor that wanted nothing more than to see me fail. I made very little money and was still living at home with the parents. The latter was something I considered to be an embarrassment, because I had never lived on my own and I thought it was more than time to move-out, but I couldn't afford to.

To add insult to injury, my love life left much to be desired. I was with someone who claimed they loved me, but I kinda felt like he was trying to mold me into a shell of myself, which I allowed at the time, but I couldn't figure out why. I now know that I was settling to just have someone to call my own. Something that I didn't stop doing until 2007....sad, but very true.

During this period of my life, I was very into church. I made sure I was there every Sunday, with my tithes in hand. Sang songs, clapped my hands and wrote down great points the pastor made so I could refer to them later. But as my life took a turn for the worst, I began to ask myself...why I am bothering? God clearly is ignoring me and my situations while blessing those who don't even acknowledge him. So, I slowly began to drift away into a sea of depression and desperation which led me to have a negative attitude and to be alone with no man to call my own for the next two years.

Finally in 2007, after getting a better job and a home of my own, I decided to let go of the negativity and baggage and explore just hanging out, nothing serious, just a movie and dinner with a companion from time to time. Basically, keeping it very light. I had come to the realization that I love myself too much to be treated any ole' kinda way. Well, the second month of 2007, I met my now husband.

Now, in 2010 I can appreciate the two year hiatus and all the crap that took place between 2005 and 2007 because it led me to where I am today. Now why did I take you on that journey through my life? To share with you a few truths that I learned along the way:

1. Be satisfied with where you are and what you have now. Trust me, it can get and probably will get worse before it gets better.

2. Don't miss out on your blessing because its not what you want. God gives us what we need and a little bit of what we want (sometimes). Again, trust me! If you're in a situation where you're unhappy, its not the final destination in your life, just a layover, but the length of that layover will be determined by your attitude.

3. Like the passage says, there is a time for everything! Just because someone else is receiving their blessing, don't compare your life to theirs. All you see is their glory, but you have no idea the story behind it. Your time is not God's time.

Anyway, that's my story. Now, I'm not saying waiting patiently for your time is easy because its not. No one wants to be stuck in a rut that they can't see there way out of. But sometimes its not meant for us to see, but for us to just have faith and know that things will work out even if it seems impossible. If something doesn't work out then it wasn't meant to be and we should just press forward.

I have a few friends that are struggling with Time and I hope they receive this message and learn from my mistakes. Five years seems like a long time, but compared to 28 years, its a drop in the bucket.