You are my God. My times are in Your hand.
Psalm 31:14-15
I am a pearl girl. My sweet husband knows this, so he gave me a beautiful long strand of pearls when I gave birth to my firstborn twenty-five years ago. When my second child arrived, he bought me a pair of pearl and diamond earrings that I simply adore. So when I lost one of my pearl earrings this past summer, I was devastated.
I’d worn them to a funeral I attended in South Carolina. The visitation after the service had lasted longer than I expected, and I was ready to make an exit. A quick dash to the ladies room allowed me to swap my pencil skirt, pumps, and pearls for yoga pants and flip-flops. Glancing at the clock on the way out of the church, I realized I needed to get on the road now if I was going to beat rush hour traffic. I threw my things into the back seat and made a mad dash for the freeway.
I passed through Atlanta on my drive home. The mile markers had flown by until I reached the outskirts of this sprawling city that made my hometown of Birmingham seem like a tiny hamlet. The southbound lane of I-85 was at a standstill. As the cars inched along, I could see my goal of arriving home in 5 hours was not going to happen. By the time I traversed the heart of the city and arrived at the Six Flags exit on I-20 West, I needed a potty break and a snack. “I should be at the Anniston Starbucks right now,” I grumbled. There was no hope of getting in a bubble bath and a movie before bedtime.
Arriving home after more than 7 hours in transit left me too tired to unpack. The next morning, as I was emptying the contents of my suitcase, I discovered that one of my pearl earrings was missing. “Oh no, Lord! Please don’t let it be so!” I begged. But, after turning my bag inside out and searching every inch of my car, I realized what I’d done. In my haste to get on the road, I’d not put my jewelry in a secure spot. My impatience had caused me to make a costly mistake.
I found the number for the church and was greeted by a kind woman named Barbara when I called. She was disappointed to tell me that no pearl earring had been turned in since yesterday. “I know this is a long shot,” I began, “But is there any way that you might send someone to look for it? I can tell you exactly where I changed and where I parked.” She agreed to check on it and call me back.
As they searched, I prayed. Of course I asked God to restore my lost earring, but I also prayed, “Lord, will You use this experience to change the way I manage my time?” As I continued to wait in His presence, this familiar and challenging Scripture came to mind:
I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ. (Philippians 3:8 NIV)
I opened my Bible and began to meditate on this verse. I was able to say, “Yes, Lord, that is the truth. Knowing You is worth far more than anything I could ever lose. If losing my earring, even this one that is so very special to me, allows me to know You and Your view of time better, then I am okay with whatever outcome You choose.”
As I surrendered to the Lord’s highest purpose for my life, I began to see how I needed to unlearn the world’s way of squeezing the most out of a minute. I had misappropriated the verse “making the most of your time, because the days are evil.” (Eph 5:16) I had used it to reinforce what the world had taught me–that I needed to beware lest the forces of the universe conspire and steal my precious time. In buying into the theory that the race always goes to the swift, I had misconstrued slowness with inefficiency.
I opened my mind and heart to the possibilities of letting God make the most of my time. It was exciting to consider seeing delays as God’s providence and interruptions as opportunities. What fun to imagine Him taking potentially frustrating situations and making them His divine appointments!
Just then the phone rang, and it was a South Carolina number. I braced myself for whatever news the call might bring. My new friend Barbara was pleased to report, “The custodian found your earring in the exact parking space you described.” We made appropriate celebratory noises and praised the Lord. As I thanked her over and over, she interrupted me to say, “I need to tell you that it looks like you ran over the earring with your car. The post is bent and there is a little nick on the surface of the pearl.”
Though I never thought it would be possible for me to love my earrings more, they are more dear to me than ever. That tiny scratch on the surface is a permanent reminder of my erroneous ideas about making the most of the time. Each time I put them on, I’m prompted to thank God that my time is in His most capable hands.
Please don’t squander one bit of this marvelous life God has given us. God reminds us, I heard your call in the nick of time; the day you needed me, I was there to help.
2 Corinthians 6:1-2 MSG