Is It ‘Missing Out’ or God’s Perfect Timing?
By Jessica Brodie
I wanted to go on that camping trip so badly—yet I couldn’t. I was frustrated and relieved and mad, all at the same time.
My husband and I had been planning it for months, how we’d head off in our renovated Jurassic Park-themed 1992 Jeep Wrangler (his pet project!) along the SCAR, the South Carolina Adventure Route. We’d traverse hundreds of miles of rural, mostly unpaved trails, sleeping in the middle of nowhere, figuring out what our Jeep can (and can’t) do, all while enjoying God’s creation in autumn, our favorite season. His brother and our niece were joining us in their off-road vehicle, too.
Then, at the 11th-hour, I had an issue with one of our children that had to come first. It wasn’t an emergency, but Matt and I had a heart-to-heart, and we decided the right thing to do was for me to skip the trip. He had to go because of some video commitments, but I didn’t. Besides, my stress level has been extraordinarily high lately. Missing this trip was the better option all around.
Still, I struggled with this choice. I wanted to go! I wanted this outdoor date with my husband. And a nagging thought tugged behind it all: Was I being a “Martha” instead of a “Mary”?
You might remember that story from Scripture in Luke 10:38-42, where Jesus was having dinner at the home of his friends Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. Sister Martha stayed busy, distracted by all the preparations, while sister Mary sat at Jesus’s feet and basked in his teachings. When Martha grumbled at Jesus to urge Mary to help, Jesus told Martha that Mary had chosen the better path. She chose time with the Savior over work that would always be there.
Was I, like Martha, picking the mundane over the better choice?
But I knew deep down: I needed to be there for my child. And so I missed the trip, the beautiful scenery, the time in nature, the time with my husband.
It was tempting to get all grumpy and petulant, to feel like I missed out. And at first that’s exactly how I felt.
But then a peace about God’s timing began to work its way into my heart, and there it stayed.
See, I often think about God’s perfect timing in regards to things I want but have to wait for (much the things I wrote about in my blog last week on Is God Making Me Wait for a Reason?—https://www.jessicabrodie.com/shiningthelight/wait-for-a-reason ). But God’s timing applies to much more than me and my desires. It’s also about seasons in our life and being content right where we are.
Some of us are familiar with that verse from Ecclesiastes, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: 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” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 NIV).
Then there are word by the less-known prophet, Habakkuk, also on God’s timing: “For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay” (Habakkuk 2:3).
Galatians 6:9 reminds us, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Then there’s Psalm 56:3, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”
I wasn’t afraid for my life, but deep down, I knew I had “FOMO,” fear of missing out.
But as God’s peace settled over me about missing the trip and I opened my heart to accepting this, I realized: It just wasn’t my time to go this weekend. And that was OK.
I was a little envious when Matt came home last night with all these stories of the gorgeous foliage and the beautiful spot they found to camp, all isolated with a creek and a pretty view. But like Mary, I know in my heart I made the better choice to be a good mom to my sweet kiddo. My time will come.
This I know.
How about you? Have you missed out on something and later realized that was just fine? Are you struggling with “FOMO” right now? I’d love to hear. Drop a comment below. God bless you, my friend!
