We went on a local adventure over the weekend to a place called the Cliff House Inn overlooking the Arkansas Grand Canyon. It’s known for its sunrises and the Company’s Comin’ Pie – although I’d skip that (weird), but highly encourage the sweet potato fries (yum!)
Before we went to bed we googled the sunrise time to be 7:08. That night, we were out on the deck from 3 AM to after 4 AM with Ben shooting stars and then we all passed out again. All of a sudden I startled awake, sat up in bed, and with sleepy eyes peered through the gap in the curtain. Daylight! I jumped out of bed to find the early morning sky on fire! I woke everyone up and we were on the deck overlook a few minutes before 7:00. There were some clouds in the eastern horizon but that just added to the gorgeous sky! A few minutes after being out, I asked, “What time was sunrise?” “7:08, Mom.” OK. OK. More pictures. A few more minutes. And probably at 7:07 and 45 seconds, I asked, “Do you think the sun has actually risen and it’s behind a cloud so we can’t see the sphere of it?” Those words were barely out of my mouth when the sun rose. At 7:08. And it was coming up fast. It wasn’t there. And then it was there. At 7:08. Right on time.
Zack and I were talking about it on the way to school this morning. How everything has a time. Things happen right on time. And I had to ask myself if I really believe that? And I guess the answer is…sorta kinda.
I have some friends at work who like to needle me. We may start talking about someone who could die or someone who did die, and they say, “Well, you can’t worry too much. If it’s their time, it’s their time. Oh, they died suddenly and tragically? Well, it WAS their time.” And yes. I get what they’re saying, but it doesn’t stop my eye roll.
Solomon the Wise has some great enlightenment for us as he declares, “Meaningless, meaningless! Everything is meaningless!” OK. OK. I do love his passage in Ecclesiastes 3 about a “time for everything.” At least that makes some sense of this life. He has a lot to say for sure. I think he said it best when he said, “…but time AND chance happen to them all.”
I don’t know what the times of our lives look like to God. If it’s really “it’s our time, it’s our time” or if He keeps reworking our life-plan to provide for us when Satan throws out evil chance-curveballs. I don’t know why some are healed and some are not. Why some live and some don’t make it. I don’t know why some have more time and for some time runs out.
Do the times of our lives in good or bad, blessing or cursing, life or death, come just as the sun does at exactly 7:08? For me personally, I don’t know. But I do know one time that is coming.
After Habakkuk pours out his complaint of violence and strife, the Lord answers. And I love it.
“For the revelation awaits an appointed time, it speaks of the end and it will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it, it will certainly come and it will not delay.” Habakkuk 2:3
Lift up the trumpet and loud let it ring, Jesus is coming again!
The Son is coming! At 7:08. Right on time.