Time Change

Yesterday, a remarkable thing happened that I want to share with my readers. Not to say my life is any different than yours, but as an example that God can introduce wonders - even small ones - into our lives when we allow it.

My husband and I spent a good deal of time running from one appointment to another, driving  great distances between them. I sincerely doubted we'd be on time for our 3 pm appointment. We had left the prior appointment late and my husband doesn't drive fast. We still had a great deal of mileage to cover and it was already 2:45 according to my watch.

I was tempted to pray, but I hesitated, more than once. The reality check is that I should have spaced the appointments further apart. That was my fault. The beneficiaries of what I was going to pray for would be myself, my husband and the woman we had the appointment to meet. Was that small thing worth asking for a miracle? Why would I even ask for such a thing? Prayers should be for healing, for spiritual help, for comfort - not for asking God to stretch time so we could make our appointment on a Saturday afternoon.

Yes, I did have Faith to understand that God could somehow manipulate time (or road miles) and have us at our designated place in half the the time it would normally take. I had no doubts there, because God is outside time and space. God can do anything.

So, my struggle was whether or not this would be something I could ask? Or would that be the equivalent of a child asking a parent for a dessert five minutes before dinner time?

What would God think of this request from a Child?

A response I received was this (not exactly these words). It does not matter what we ask for. What matters is how we ask and how we respond. We are never to demand anything of God. Yes, we can hold to the Faith that with God nothing is impossible, but we are not to expect God will do everything at our beck and call. God is not a bellhop.

Further, we need to be completely willing to accept God's answer to our prayer, and we have to be willing to let God answer our prayer His/Her way. This includes in God's time. Whether or not the answer is for what we hope, we are always to thank God for the answer with sincere gratitude. As a loving Parent, the answer will always be what is best for us.

OK, I told myself, I am willing to try that. I must sadly admit, I had very significant doubts God would agree to help us in this way. We were only about half way there and it was now 10 minutes to 3 pm.

I closed my eyes and prayed. After all, God knew about my request the moment it popped into my head and I struggled about whether or not to ask. I prayed as humbly as I could, clearly anticipating the answer that time/space would not change, that we would be late.

At five minutes to 3 pm, the rolling sea of highway-side trees continued at their normal pace. I was about to call the woman to tell her we will be late. 

Wait.

I paused, and it came again. Wait.

I waited another three minutes, wondering if things would change. To my perception, they did not. I finally had to admit that the answer would be no.

I took out my cell phone, habitually giving the sides a squeeze, and the front light came on revealing the time from the tower: 2:36 pm.

What?

I looked at the watch on my arm, the second hand continued to tick by at normal speed. I know I had synched up the times when I put it on. And all-mechanical watches like mine slow down, not speed up. But there it was: 2:58 pm.

I glanced again at the cell phone; I had read it correctly: 2:36 pm. I glanced at the GPS in my lap, revealing we had 23 minutes travel time left. This would be close, but we will make it. I closed my eyes in thankful prayer.

God's own way. But time, for me yesterday, did indeed change. :D