Everyone in my 6th grade class was working diligently on an assignment, except for one student. She had not even picked up her pencil. I finally walked over to her and whispered, “You need to stop wasting time.”

She looked up at me and said, “I was thinking about my daddy.” Tears welled up in her eyes as she told me that her army dad had left that morning to serve overseas in what she referred to as an unsafe place.

What I realized most at that point – was that I had been mistaken. She had not been wasting time. It was far from that. For her, this was a time of war. This was a time to weep. This was a time to mourn.

And…the other students apparently felt it was no longer a time to work at their desks. They knew instead that it was a time to speak. They began to ask if they could help.

They knew it was a time to love. One student walked over to her – and the others followed. She tearfully shared some of the emotions she was feeling.

Some knew it was a time to help her heal, so they offered words of encouragement. Some knew it was a time to embrace, so hugs were given.
Some knew it was a time to speak, and they closed their eyes to speak to their Savior.

I saw her months later in the mall, after a new school year had begun. Her dad was with her. It was my time to weep, as I realized that for her family, a time of peace had come. God had made everything beautiful in his time.

I lost count of the number of times I used the word time as I wrote this, but I do know that God’s timing is important and we should trust it – as we face times in our lives that, according to Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 have a season and a purpose under heaven.

I learned some valuable lessons from that young lady and her classmates that day:

–What may look like – or even feel like – wasting time – may not be wasting time.
–We sure can learn a lot from taking time to look beyond actions – and see the heart.
–Sometimes, we should stop – and make time for those who need us.

No wonder the word time is in the Bible 623 times…

Ann is a speaker and teacher. Contact her at annfarabee@gmail.com or annfarabee.com