God's Perfect Timing

January 11, 2017

Day 11: Experiencing Heaven on Earth:
"Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God's right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth." —Colossians 3:1-2

My first thought as I read the title was, I'd like to experience Heaven on Earth and after reading the scripture I thought, easier said than done.  When I was younger, it was easier I think.  Anderson talks about a dream he had of heaven.  "In that dream, I experienced the sights, sounds, and smells of heaven."  He encourages us to look for signs of heaven here on earth.  His personal examples are all from nature and his surroundings, "a tantalizing aroma, a majestic butterfly."  I can relate to him seeing heaven in nature.  I have always felt closer to heaven in the woods than in any other place.

I can also relate to his dream of heaven.  I had a similar experience when I was a kid.  I was completely overwhelmed by life and could take no more.  I don't even remember what was going on in my life at the time, but I remember the feeling of I just can't take anymore.  I came home from school and dropped to my knees at the foot of my bed, letting my backpack fall to the floor.  I laid my torso down on the bed and I had what I can only describe as an out of body experience.  I could see myself as if I was above and behind myself looking down on the bed.  I felt weightless as if someone had picked me up.  A great warmth came over my whole body as I was lifted and held close to an intense bright light.  It was God. I knew deep within me that He was holding me like one holds a baby, close to His heart.  He held me for a long time and then gently placed me down on what seemed to be marble steps.  He told me, "You must go back now." I remember walking down a few steps away from the light and then I was in my body again. I awoke completely refreshed and renewed. Reliving this moment makes me teary eyed. I wish I could experience something like that again. It is events like this and others that I have had in my life that lead me to believe without a doubt that there is a God, a being greater than us, a creator.  I must remind myself of experiences like this when I begin to feel that God is angry, vengeful, demanding, unloving and indifferent.  He loves us and knows just what we can handle and just what we need and when we need it.

I can see evidences of His perfect timing in my life when I really stop and think about it.  We used to live in Arizona, a rather conservative state and in a very conservative community.  Just before we moved, my son, Levi, formerly my daughter Maddie, was struggling with his gender and sexuality.  He thought he was gay and then after we moved to Colorado, he was experiencing intense gender dysphoria and felt that he must be gender fluid.  Then he came to realize that he was actually transgender and needed to become the boy that he has really been all along.  Had we stayed in Arizona, I believe we may have lost our child due to the pressures he would have experienced at school and within the community in which we lived.  He also may not have been able to move as quickly through the process of getting on testosterone as he has been able to here in Colorado.  We live in one of the most liberal and open-minded areas of the state.  I believe that God placed us here knowing just what we would need to help our child and what I would need in order to turn back to Him.   There is more to the story of our move and the way God has worked everything out in our favor, but it suffices to say, God's timing is perfect.