Imperfect Timing

Most of us experience with some regularity what we would call “imperfect timing.” I’m in the midst of an episode right now: As soon as I started a week as acolyte (reader of prayers) at morning and evening prayer at the Mount, I came down with a sore throat/cold that impairs my ability to speak.

When it comes to a cold, “this too shall pass,” but other examples of imperfect timing can change a person’s life direction: an unexpected pregnancy, the need to care for an aging parent, or the loss of a job, for example.

In his poem The Guest House, the Persian poet Rumi says that the occasions we view as imperfect timing may be “violently sweeping your house empty of its furniture,” thus “clearing you out for some new delight.” Typically, we aren’t able to appreciate the value of imperfect timing in the moment. It is only in hindsight that we see how a cold may be signaling the need for more rest, an unplanned pregnancy may bring joy to our family, caring for an aging parent may strengthen this vital relationship, and the loss of a job may lead us to our true vocation.

If we believe that “the Divine Presence is everywhere,” as St. Benedict says in his Rule, we know our Consoler is always at hand to help us adjust to difficult circumstances and that love will keep flowing through our lives — perhaps not in the way we envisioned or desired, but bringing its own wisdom and delight.

From our human point of view, the timing of events in our lives is often imperfect. When we choose to dwell with God in the realm of possibility, we stop judging timing as good or bad and trust that what unfolds will lead to love in some shape or form, no matter how unexpected.