I’m always ready — I pack my suitcase the week before the trip, my articles are sent two weeks ahead of deadline and my lesson plans are always done early.
My Sweet Al’s says, “Betty, you’re always riding off without the horse.”
I say, “I’m just ready, not sure why.”
People are not usually ready for my ideas. My brilliant and far-fetched notions are before their time. I’ve written things too soon for others to understand. Then, I wondered why they fell flat, when they were dynamic to me and not to others.
Understanding comes down the road years later when everyone catches on and I’ve gone on. I might have been looking for the right answer, but shooting at the wrong target, trying to make it happen before its time. When things didn’t line up, didn’t compute, I didn’t understand. I thought I had surpassed expectations with exceptional creative ability. When not received, it brought disappointment and failure.
As I studied the Gospel of John for a Zoom Bible study, the phrase, “My hour has not yet come,” popped up several times throughout John’s gospel. I immediately thought of my grandsons. They are all in their early 30s, sending out resumes, starting their careers, all those decisions that would determine their future.
Two of my grandsons have recently married. Doors seemed to have closed for one of my grandsons. No response on sent resumes, opportunities didn’t knock, his college degree is not cutting it, and he hasn’t met the girl of his dreams.
Is he looking? Yes. He is ready? Yes. He’s a shaker and mover. He is turning over every stone. He has pulled at the reins. He’s been faithful to wait for his hour.
When talking with him, I encourage him to look at the bigger picture. Not all things have lined up for him yet. What does it mean to wait for God to act? My grandson is ready. What’s the problem? What’s the precise thing he has been designed to do? That’s the right question.
An example is the dartboard analogy: If three darts are thrown and all tightly grouped in the top-left corner, the thrown darts are highly precise — even though a person is aiming for the bullseye. Precision and accuracy are not the same. Accuracy indicates correctness, freedom from error. Precision is exactness. You can have high precision without accuracy.
The first time this phrase is written in the Gospel of John — “Mine hour is not yet come” — is when Mary told Jesus that they were out of wine. Jesus knew her request would affect his ministry. (See John 2: 2-4, NKJV).
Paraphrasing his words, He might have said, “I know what you want, but you do not understand; there are limitations to your understanding of Me. I am moving out of your care into public work. If I do something that will reveal the meaning of My personality and mission, then my mission will start.” Wow.
Another time, when Jesus was asked, He elaborated. His brothers said to him, “Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.” Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready” (John 7:6).
Was Jesus saying, “My time is not ready, but man’s time is always ready?” It’s not based on man’s readiness, but on God’s. When I begin to act, I act in my “always ready” time. My grandson’s heart has surrendered to God’s calling and is serious as to where God wants to take him. His passion is one thing — he’s been prepared for a certain career— but maybe God’s darts will serve him better in the corner of the board, tightly together. Makes sense to me.
Final brushstroke: I aimed for the bull’s eye, was disappointed that all my darts ended up in the top left corner. I called it a miss. God called it a success. Today, I see clearly as to what was going on. I was ready, but God wasn’t. He was concerned that all things work together for good for those who love Him. He never meant for me to be in the center of the dart board. All my darts seem to have ended up in the left corner, 2 miles down the Lower Blanco Road.
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