Perfect Timing

     Has God placed people in your life at the right time to teach or to comfort or to pray when you needed it most? In the early 90’s I was just getting to know Jesus when I volunteered to train to become a Stephen minister. This is a well-organized ministry based in St. Louis, and is now used in over 400,000 churches worldwide, training men and women to do one-on-one crisis ministry.

     I completed my training and my pastor at the time set up my first meeting with a woman dying of stomach cancer. As I moved slowly up her front walk, I was visibly shaking. I was not equipped. What would I say? The training vanished from my thoughts as I softly knocked on her door. Her husband let me in, walked back out to do errands and left me in a tongue-tied stupor with a sick stranger.

     I need not have worried. God placed Eleanor in my life to train me! Oh, I tried my best. She smiled, encouraged me and taught me how to be joy-filled and at peace as she got ready to meet Jesus. What an amazing blessing she was to me. Jesus placed her in my life at just the right time. She was so patient with me. This verse describes Eleanor.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Colossians 3:12

     To the very end, her blue eyes continued to sparkle and she always insisted on a satin bed robe and having her hair brushed before company arrived. She meandered in and out of a deep sleep over the last few weeks and when she awoke she would often say, “I was just with Jesus and it was wonderful!”

     The night before she died she called me and said, “It won’t be long now. Don’t you worry about me. I am going to a party with Jesus. I love you.” She died the next morning, leaving a legacy and a continuing testimony through all of us who knew her. Even in her last hours she was praising God and looking forward to being with Him.

She speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction is on her tongue.  Proverbs 31:26

     God’s perfect timing is seen as He places the right circumstances and the right people in the right places to save a soul, to offer forgiveness, to teach with patience, to heal with hope. His ways are miraculous. Tell your stories. Share your history with Jesus. Our stories, His gospel, are needed. Those holes in the hearts of the people we love are waiting to be filled with Jesus, the living bread and water. People like Eleanor can show us the way.

Dear Father in heaven,

Your ambassadors are everywhere. Teach us from Your Word and from the witness of others how to continue Your work in the world around us.

In Jesus name.

Amen