Exquisite Timing

I've heard this phrase used a lot in the world, referring to a deliberate or chance occurrence dropping into life at just the right moment to make a difference, to avoid calamity. The appearance of a book on store shelves was planned with exquisite timing to take advantage of current events. Or a ball player's addition to a team came with exquisite timing to secure his team's place in the finals. There's even a race horse named Exquisite Timing. Don't know if the horse lived up to its name, but I'm sure the owners hoped that it would.

Fred Campbell, in his book Religious Integrity for Everyone: Functional Theology for Secular Society, describes Exquisite Timing as that experience we all have when events and lives and nature all converge in one point in time to create some extraordinary, inexplicable outcome. Theist that I am, I call these "God Moments".

When I was caring for my mother some years back, I was told that she had normal pressure hydrocephalus, a build-up of spinal fluid in her brain that was causing Alzheimer's-like symptoms. The possible cure would be the placement of a brain shunt to drain the fluid from her brain into her stomach cavity. She was safe in the hospital for now, but I was to decide on the procedure over a few days, days in which I was scheduled for a business trip in another city. I boarded the plane and pulled out my journal articles describing the shunt procedure. A pleasant-looking man took his seat beside me, glanced at what I was reading and asked, "Who needs a shunt?" I learned in short order that he was a neurosurgeon on his way to a conference. He had performed many of these procedures and was more than willing to explain and answer questions during our flight. God Moment. Exquisite Timing.

A young girl from a small Midwest town goes to New York City for the first time in her life to celebrate the New Year. In the crowd, she and her friends meet a young soldier soon to be shipped out and share a meal with him and his buddies. He will become the love of her life. (Yes, happened during World War II). God Moment. Exquisite Timing.

Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent! God Moment. Exquisite Timing.

I know you've experienced this. The Life System that God created, the intricate ripples that we all cause as we move through Life's Web, the interconnections of all living things--there's enough possibilities there to keep the God Moments coming.

Keep your soul poised for Exquisite Timing. When a God Moment happens, revel in it. See how awesome God can be.

Blessings on your day!