I was convinced that God had omitted a commandment. "Thou Shalt Not Be Tardy´ should have been number 11. I spent many precious hours watching plants grow, while counting how many hair fell out of my head. I could not understand why people did not allow for the fortuitous or the unforeseen. Most people could resolve a great many of their problems by simply prioritizing, leaving room for the unexpected and honoring their commitments. I would pace and fume and shed, hour upon hour, while waiting for these tardy people to arrive. I developed an attitude, even though they say Godly patience is shown by how you act while you´re waiting. I have driven over sidewalks, around mail boxes and in between lamp posts when it looked like I could be the cause of someone pacing a floor for even ten minutes, much less an hour or more. Especially since I thought it might hamper my Christian witness. Christians might get away with an attitude, but no way should they be late.
At the time, I had two overlapping careers. This particular day I had a seven o´clock real estate appointment in Mississauga which was exactly sixty minutes away. Therefore, according to my ´thou-shalt-leave-room-for-the-unexpected´ calculations, I planned to leave downtown Toronto, where I was counseling, by no later than 5:20 p.m. Since I had overemphasized to these people that I was a ´Christian´, the extra 40 minutes were a mandatory precaution. Jesus was never late. I follow Jesus, therefore I cannot be late.
Life they say is full of the unexpected. About midday, I was asked to try and console a lady who was weeping in the lobby and squeeze her between my appointments. Her problem was paramount and she needed to talk to someone. No Problem! My dilemma occurred though around 4:00 p.m. when another distressed woman came in. The lady was in a state of panic. They came to get me. I panicked. What to do? I was running late. My other appointments started to double up. No Problem ! Jesus never panicked. I´ll talk faster. I´ll pray faster. I´ll walk faster. As long as I get to my car by 6:00 p.m. my Christian witness would stay intact.
Did I say, no problem? There was a major problem. Exiting onto the highway I found one mess of a traffic jam. Bumper to bumper. The cars might as well have been parked. Nobody was going anywhere. I started to feel hair follicles releasing their grip. I decided I had lost too many today, it was time to take decisive action, "Lord God, even if it takes 100,000 angels, please clear this mess!" I was serious. I knew God had more than enough angels waiting in the wings for just such an emergency. This was an emergency. I was a Christian and Christians can not be late. Plus I reasoned, I gave the Lord the extra mile today: two actually, so, I didn´t think I was unreasonable in asking for help so I could uphold my integrity.
Just then, out of corner of my eye, I spotted a sight that made me shout and holler, "THANK YOU GOD ! HALLELUIA!" I couldn´t believe my eyes. God´s s-o-o-o smart! There in my rear view mirror appeared ´one´ angel. Not 100,000 angels, just one. But, ...... one with authority and power and a way to get me out of this mess. Siren blaring, lights flashing, he was coming up behind me at quite a clip. I jutted into the next lane, out of the cruiser´s way and then immediately shot right back in behind him and glued myself to his bumper yelling "Glory Halleluia!" as cars parted and moved out of his way and we advanced through stand still traffic, all the way to Mississauga. It wasn´t a real angel, but it was a genuine miracle. Ahead of me, the officer kept glaring into his rear view mirror wondering what in the world this woman was doing almost attached to his bumper.
I arrived at my destination about 7:20 p.m. only to find that no-one was home. By 8:30 I was almost bald. What was unforeseen here, was that God was going to teach me a valuable lesson.
My clients finally arrived, apologizing because they "-- got stuck in this terrible traffic pile up on the freeway ......" Right there and then, the Lord broke me of not only my compulsion to hurry to make up for lost time, but to not become frantic, ever again. I did not have to hurry. Jesus never hurried. He never had to, because GOD was in CONTROL. He was, is, and always will be.
Scripture says, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me..... -- (and all your hair shall still be attached to your head).
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