Timing

Two years ago, I was pretty sure I was going to be called as a Sunday School teacher.

Before graduate school, that calling would have terrified me. I was shy, and standing in front of a room teaching each week seemed like the most daunting thing ever. But this was a year into graduate school, and something had changed. I was surprised to discover I wasn't scared of teaching anymore. When I started feeling like I would be called as a Sunday School teacher... I wasn't afraid.

Because of these feelings, I wasn't surprised when the Sunday School President pulled me aside at ward prayer and asked me to substitute teach. "This is it," I thought, "This is the first of many lessons." My lesson actually went much, much better than I expected. I actually enjoyed it.

And then... when we received our callings, I was called as the Family History Consultant. This was a bit of a surprise, but I wasn't concerned. I figured I had just misunderstood what the Spirit was trying to tell me.

Fast forward to winter semester. The Sunday School president facebooks me to see if I will be staying for spring/summer. They are going to start a family history Sunday School class, and they are wondering if I will be available to be a teacher.

I won't be. I'm graduating and moving back home in April. But I submit the name of another girl, a family history major who I know would be an excellent teacher.

Life gets crazy busy as graduation approaches. I slave away on my thesis until the day comes for my defense.

I am TERRIFIED. But it actually goes quite well, and I pass my defense.

I walk home, on a high from the experience. I walk through the door of my apartment.

My phone buzzes.

It's a message from the Sunday School president. They've decided to have the class now after all. Would I be willing to teach it?

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This experience was to me, a powerful testament of the Lord's timing in our lives. Months in advance, I knew the call that was coming. But it didn't come until the exact moment (literally!) that I had time in my life to do it, without being too stressed because of the rigors of graduate school.

In life, God's timing isn't always so easy to understand... But we need to trust that He knows us and He loves us. He always answers our prayers... in the best time for us. That can be outside our mortal comprehension for now, but when we look back someday, we will see that it is all for our best good. He knows what we need and when we need it far better than we do.

So... when I get impatient in life, I try to remember this experience. God's timing is the best timing. Our patience will be rewarded.