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01/20/2006: "Timing"

I was looking for a document on the computer today and I came across a copy of a talk from 2004, written and delivered as a sort of farewell to our ward before we moved up to Pocatello. I spoke on faith in the Lord's timing, with personal experiences that were still so fresh...

We'd been waiting for over two years at that point, two years since we'd been given the tentative job offer. I suffered another miscarriage on Christmas Day 2003, and the grief was tempered just a bit by the priesthood blessing revealing that now was not the time for another baby to join our family. January came and went, Emma turned 3, and President's Day came and went and the next day the winds shifted hard and fast. A welcome whirlwind, to be sure, as the firm job offer was extended Tuesday, and Richard was to report for training on the east coast a mere 22 days later.

Here's part of my talk:

This life brings trials, afflictions and uncertainties. Many times we struggle to pray as Jesus did to the Father, that Thy will be done. The scriptures teach us that our faith and our patience will be tried. Elder Maxwell suggests that we pray “Thy timing be done” as well.

We are told that we will be tried, in our faith and our patience.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks, of the quorum of the twelve apostles, adds these thoughts about timing.
"in all the important decisions in our lives, what is most important is to do the right thing. Second and only slightly behind the first, is to do the right thing at the right time. The issue for us is trusting God enough to trust also His timing. If we can truly believe He has our welfare at heart, may we not let His plans unfold as He thinks best? The same is true with the second coming and with all those matters wherein our faith needs to include faith in the Lord’s timing for us personally, not just in His overall plans and purposes.”

Indeed, we cannot have true faith in the Lord without also having complete trust in the Lord’s will and in the Lord’s timing.

The Lord's timing is perfect, even though we humans are not...

I needed that reminder again--how timely =)

Replies: 3 Comments

on Tuesday, January 24th, Tanya said

Hey, I found it! I had to remove the www. to get to the main page too!
You are so right about Timing, it is surely something we all need to learn!

on Monday, January 30th, sarebear said

I so needed this.

Thank you.

My husband lost his job (well, they've got him doing hit or miss fill-in work, but the job he's been at for four years.)

on Wednesday, February 1st, Moi said

Oh, Sarebear... (((hugs)))

That is always a tough one for a family to go through--so much stress all around.