October 1, 2026
We are at the beach this week with friends. We wanted to go and watch the Blue Angels practice session. We were told it would get very crowded, so we needed to leave quite early as there was usually a line to get through security on the Naval Base. They also only allow a certain number of people to come in and see the show. According to the information online, the show started at 10:30.
The people who own the condo we are renting told us we needed to leave by 7:00 to get there in a timely manner. We debated and decided 7:30 would work. We drove up to the Naval Base, and there was a line to get through the front gate. We waited in line and finally made it to the guard. He took all of our driver's licenses and asked where we were going. We proudly replied the air show.
The guard looked at his watch and it was 7:50. He told us we could not get in until 8:30. After he consulted with another guard, he said we could probably come back at 8:15. Now mind you this was not mentioned anywhere in any of the documentation that you could not get in for the airshow until 8:30. The guard had to stop the traffic from the other entrance line to allow us to make a U-turn and leave.
We sort of laughed at it all, concluding we had been rejected. We ran to Walmart and then returned to the line around 8:15 like we were told. There was a different guard this time, and when we got to the front of the line, he proudly announced we could not get into the Naval Base until 8:30. Again, he made us turn around and leave. Rejected a second time!
Of course, the next time we waited until 8:30 on the dot, and we were allowed to enter. We actually all found it quite comical that we had been turned away twice because our timing was off.
As I was thinking about this scenario, I became overwhelmed with thankfulness that we serve a God who does not turn us away. In fact, in Matthew, God says come to me all who are weary and heavy burdened, and He will give us rest. God wants us to come to Him regardless of our troubles or whether we are early or late. He is always there and will not turn us away.
The cross is the proof that God loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for us, knowing Jesus would bear the weight of all our sins. He did not and does not turn us away.
The other thing I noted was that God is always on time. We can be early, or we can be late, but we serve a God whose timing is never off. He orchestrates everything in our lives with perfect timing. We as humans "think" we know the correct timing. Sometimes we try to make things happen before God. Our timing is off.
Thankfully, God in His infinite wisdom has perfect timing. There is peace in knowing God's timing is perfect. There is freedom in knowing His ways are not my ways. There is security in knowing God will not abandon or turn away His people. We can rest in the certainty that God promises to finish what He starts.
Our timing was off at the air show, but at the proper time we were able to enter and see a fantastic show. Even this reminds me that God, in His perfect timing, provides all I need to have a relationship with Him and a life that can be meaningful. I might not always be on time, but I have a God who is. He patiently waits for all of us to come to Him, cast our cares, ease our minds, soothe our souls, and enjoy each fantastic day walking with Him.
___
Jill Johnson finds spiritual applications in her everyday experiences as a wife, mother, grandmother, and Georgian. Jill is retired from the Georgia Baptist Mission Board and is available to speak to your church's women's gatherings. Reach her at jjohnson@gabaptist.org.
Share with others
