light at the end of the tunnel

it is miraculous thing, God's timing. while things around us may be in upheaval, He visits us with little assurances, often perfectly timed, to make sure we know He is aware.

i have often been guilty of writing things off as coincidence. in fact, in one of the first conversations i  had with my mother-in-law when i was about 16, i specifically remember her telling me that the situation we were discussing(which happened to be about devin's mission) was not a coincidence. since then i am sadly still guilty of forgetting that timing is everything.

i needed a refresher recently on what the phrase tender mercy really meant. i tend to overuse the term and it turned it into something trite and meaningless. i was surprised to remember how often the timing the blessings are to help us recognize that they come from Him. let an apostle describe it for us:

"Often, the Lord’s timing of His tender mercies helps us to both discern and acknowledge them.

Faithfulness and obedience enable us to receive these important gifts and, frequently, the Lord’s timing helps us to recognize them.

We should not underestimate or overlook the power of the Lord’s tender mercies. The simpleness, the sweetness, and the constancy of the tender mercies of the Lord will do much to fortify and protect us in the troubled times in which we do now and will yet live. When words cannot provide the solace we need or express the joy we feel, when it is simply futile to attempt to explain that which is unexplainable, when logic and reason cannot yield adequate understanding about the injustices and inequities of life, when mortal experience and evaluation are insufficient to produce a desired outcome, and when it seems that perhaps we are so totally alone, truly we are blessed by the tender mercies of the Lord and made mighty even unto the power of deliverance."

essentially what i am trying to get at is that i've better recognized in the past few months, that "WHEN is just as important as HOW." source. 

last weekend i got some news that a dear friend is coming out to visit. in just one of those desperate moments, this was the light at the end of a tunnel for me, hope that i can make it through the christmas season overseas without my beloved family, joy from knowing God catered the timing of this gift to suit my current needs. 

the angel arrives today, and will leave just before the holidays. here is to a heavensent week with russo.