Waiting for Just the Right Time

My father volunteers at a thrift store where people donate their unwanted items and clothes. These items are sold and at a very inexpensive price, and the money is donated to the local hospital to purchase equipment to benefit the community. His job is to go through all the items donated and sort them so they can be placed on the shelves and racks. This means, he gets to see what comes in first. It also means he has the first opportunity to purchase these items. Consequently, his grandchildren are super spoiled! I also get to reap the benefits of his generosity. He knows that I love old books. It doesn’t happen very often, but every now and then a really cool, old book gets donated, and he quickly purchases it to give to me.

About a year ago, he came to my house with a small, black box. Inside this old yet still pristine box, was a Bible. This Bible had sat in its box for over sixty years. It looked brand new and old at the same time. There was something about the book that drew me to it. My mind told me to place it on the shelf and admire the illustrations and unfaded pages which had rarely, if ever, been looked at. My heart; however, longed to put it into practice. That was when this walk through scripture we have been on was born. I obviously had another Bible I had been reading for many, many years. It is filled with notes, articles, and thoughts as I have spent many hours devouring its message. To write this commentary of the Bible though, I wanted a fresh canvas. This old but unread Bible begged to be used. It is my prize possession. I carry it with me to work so that I can fill myself up during my break. It sits by my chair so I can always grab it.

I often look at my Bible and smile, not simply because of the beauty of God’s word but, because of the journey this book has had. For sixty years, it sat in the darkness of a carboard box, unwanted and forgotten. Whoever owned the Bible before me never new the riches it contained. There was not a wrinkle, not a fold in any of its pages. Now, the cover is sealed with packing tape because the brittle spine of the cover was tearing and weak with age. The once smooth, red edge of all the pages is beautifully feathered to show that the book lies open as much as it lies closed. Color lines important passages and carefully attached notes add clarity and input.

Like my precious Bible, some of us spend many years tucked away, waiting for the moment we get to do and be all that our Creator designed for us. The wait can be brutal. It can be discouraging. It can be much longer than we want it to be, but it is worth it. When we allow God to set the timetable on our life, we will never be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Some of us are used right away. Some of us have to wait, but all of us have a beautiful purpose. Don’t give up hope. Your time is coming.

(Written by Keegan Harkins.)