This week I had the opportunity to take dinner to Stoney’s parents, Tracy & Sharon Dartt, which I’ve tried to do each week since Stoney’s passing. This week while we were sharing memories around the table, the subject of “time” came up. The timing of me joining the Dartt family back in December 2004, the timing of my dad’s passing, the timing of us taking our ministry off the road, Stoneys passing, and the start up of our new ministry. Timing is literally everything…and HIS Timing is absolutely perfect, even when we can’t see all the details of the full picture. It’s a masterpiece of art in my opinion.
The book I recently wrote and released is called “In the Hands of Time”…Time is a part of our everyday life, and in a second, a minute, an hour, our entire lives can change, or turn upside down. We do not know what the next hour will bring, or what tomorrow holds. I know the certainty of being a Child of God and knowing without a shadow of a doubt that I am in HIS HANDS, and whatever time is left, I will spend it serving Him to the best of my ability. However, isn’t it just amazing that HE KNOWS each second, minute, hour of our lives. That there is nothing we can do to change His plan, nothing we can do to rewrite our course. I find it so interesting that my life, my story, my timeline has already been charted, but I don’t know from one day to the next what that looks like. I am a planner, I like to know what is going to happen tomorrow…by the hour, but I don’t have that certainty that tomorrow is going to go the way I want it to. I must be willing to accept the changes that God lays out before me. I must be willing to understand that my life might be altered in a way I might not approve of, but that doesn’t mean He isn’t going to weave it all together to form a prettier picture than my original concept.
I was walking with a dear friend of mine, and she said “I don’t know what I would do if I lost my husband, or child tomorrow”… The fear of losing a loved one, or a business, a financial loss, a physical decline could change at any moment. Our happy, idealistic days are not promised today but we don’t have to worry about what we don’t have until that day comes. Until it’s “TIME”. God knows what we can handle. He knows our strength, He knows our ability to process and function through tragedy. None of it is a surprise to Him, because HE is the holder of time. He is the controller of time, He is the MASTER OF TIME. This sincere and truthful fact brings me JOY through my Sorrowing. I can rest in Jeremiah 31:25 because He says “He has given rest to the weary and JOY to the sorrowing”. He will fill us with the strength and peace we need for today and not a moment sooner. He will give us the ability to face the trials of the day, when that day comes…because HE promised.
The past few months have been BUSY for me as I have tried to take TIME to read, to pray, to make plans for my future, create new music and start a new ministry… but also to cry, to mourn, to release the pain of the past, the pain of losing someone that I miss and loved very dearly. I can’t forget or “un-live” the last few weeks of Stoneys life. The pain I felt, the messes I had to clean and the sorrow, frustration, and hurt on his face as he suffered – and I just watched. Those memories are vivid and REAL, and still continue to haunt me daily. Did I do enough? Could I have done more? Why Lord did you not give us the miracle we asked you for? People say “Time will heal all wounds”. I don’t believe that is always true because again, “What is time?” I do believe GOD WILL HEAL ALL WOUNDS IN HIS TIME…. It is a very different perspective because ONLY HE ALONE can give us what we need…ONLY HE ALONE can fill us with the peace that passeth ALL understanding. ONLY HE ALONE can give us the strength and HOPE for today, tomorrow and beyond. Time is NOTHING, without the ONE who makes it.
I hope as the hands on the clock of time tick-tock through the day that you take each moment to LOVE the ones around you, to enjoy the moments you have, the memories you make, because one day the hands on the clock will stop. Life will change. We are just passing through and nothing is promised. I hope you know the Master of Time. I hope you have taken time to place your life in His hands. If you don’t, please reach out to one of our counselors here at Moving Mountains Ministries so that we can help you make sure that you are perfectly settled “In the Hands of Time”.
