01/12/2022 Principal's Note
How do you feel about running late? As my wife can fully attest, there is almost nothing else in life that gives me more anxiety than being late for something. I routinely set clocks five minutes ahead to give myself just a little extra time when I need to be somewhere. Growing up, my family was often late for various engagements, so much so that being on "Fuerstenau time" has become a running joke. Those experiences, and the anxiety that came along with them, solidified the importance of punctuality in my mind. But, with three little kids...I'm still sometimes late.
Being on time is important. If you are late for school, you are marked tardy, which could end up having consequences. If you are late for work, your supervisor may write you up or warn you, and repeat offenses definitely end up having consequences. Being late for a celebration may give people a negative impression. Whether consciously or not, we view being early or on time as a positive trait, and being late as something to be avoided.
Praise God that he is never late! Of course, it helps that he is omnipresent (in all places at all times), but even so, God's timetable is THE timetable. The apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 4:4-5, "But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship" (NIV 2011). At the risk of revealing something else about myself, this passage reminds me of what Gandalf says to Frodo in Lord of the Rings: "A wizard is never late. Nor is he early; he arrives precisely when he means to." That quote comes first in a lighthearted, comical context, but is later remembered during a serious, life-threatening situation. Tolkien's universe is a work of fiction, meant to entertain, but our God is very real, and that quote fits his relationship with time. We are bound by our understanding of early and late, and sometimes that causes us to become irritated and impatient with God. "Where is he? Why won't he answer me NOW?" Even believers in the Bible, like Mary and Martha, struggled with this: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died" (John 11:32, NIV 2011). Jesus purposely had waited to leave to see Lazarus, and both Mary and Martha wondered aloud why he hadn't hurried.
All of this should bring us comfort. Nothing escapes the power of our Almighty Father, not even time. When things don't happen on our timetable, we must remember that our God always runs on schedule. As difficult as it is, we have to let go and stop trying to hold him to our understanding of "early" or "late." God does everything "precisely when he means to."
Have a blessed rest of your week!
In Christ,
Principal Bill Fuerstenau