Navigating Divine Timing

How do we navigate divine timing such that we align with it?  Is it simply a perspective of framing?  For instance, if I believe that where I am at any given time is a function of divine timing, am I always aligned with it or do I simply believe that I am aligned with it?  For me, it’s a function of listening and responding.  I believe we have to get still, whether through prayer or mediation, so that there is a space for that guidance to be revealed to us.  If we simply operate under the belief that wherever we are is a part of divine timing but never stop to listen for guidance, I think we can miss aligning with our unique path.  Though, if we believe we are aligned with divine timing, we’ll never feel the frustration of feeling that we missed our unique path…with that said, I guess there’s no harm in living life under that assumption!

I’m the type of person who is prone to over thinking things (hence the circular logic described above!).  I’m not free spirited enough to feel that wherever I am is a part of my unique path.  Instead, I question whether that is the case as a matter of staying aligned with my unique path.  My trip to Panama is the perfect example of me trying to navigate the divine timing of my specific plan.  Because I feel that I really stopped and listened for guidance as I navigated this process, I feel that I was there at the perfect time that I was needed and for the exact amount of time that I was meant to be there.  After which, I feel that it was time for me to return home, such that I could focus on what I was meant to doing here.

Navigating this timing is not always easy or straightforward.  Before I came to these conclusions, I had been questioning how long I was meant to stay before I became misaligned with my unique path.  I definitely found purpose in being there, but I had also found purpose in the things that I was working on back home.  At which point would I be out of alignment with where I was meant to be?  When would me being there turn into hiding from facing the next steps of my own path?

My trip was originally scheduled for two weeks, because I thought I would need to immediately return home to begin working on the book contract that I was hoping to win as a part of a writing contest that I had entered.  The winner was announced the day I arrived in Panama, but unfortunately, the name that was announced was not mine….

Originally the winner was supposed to be announced two weeks prior to my trip to Panama.  When I scheduled my trip, it felt right to leave on the date that I had chosen.  At the time, I had framed this feeling around the idea that my departure date gave me a sufficient amount of time to receive the news I was hoping for in order to nail down a contract before heading out on my trip.  The timing of receiving the news of who was being awarded the book contract and when I was leaving for Panama seemed to be in perfect divine order.  I continued to trust in this when the publisher moved the date that the winners would be announced to the same day that I would be traveling to Panama.  Instead of fearing the loss of control over the plans that I had made, I trusted that I was meant to find out this news while I was in Panama.  Entering the situation from this perspective allowed me to trust in a greater plan, even if it was beginning to look different than the one I had initially imagined.

In the months leading up to finding out whether or not I would be awarded this contract, I prayed to stay open to God’s plan versus clinging to my ego’s plan.  I believe this is what allowed me to receive the news of my rejection with any level of grace.  I had faith that it was a part of a greater plan.  I trusted that I was meant to be a part of the contest, though that reason wasn’t to win the contest.  I also trusted that I was meant to be in Panama on the day this news was announced.  Finally, I trusted that my being there had some bearing on my next steps.

Within a week of praying for the next steps to reveal themselves, I felt that I was meant to extend my trip in Panama by another three weeks.  My friend, Lindsey, was racing against an impending deadline that fell within this time frame and I felt that my being there could help her meet this deadline.  I could allow her to be in two places at once by dividing and conquering the various tasks that she had to accomplish.  Instead of feeling as if I should race home to figure out my next steps, I felt that God had placed it on my heart to extend my trip, so I did.

I found comfort in finding immediate purpose to how I could use my time.  It also served to take my mind off of facing the uncertainty of what I needed to do to align the book with its intended path.  I navigated both worlds easily as I put myself in service to the needs of Lindsey’s projects and continued to write and share blogs.  I can see that being in Panama prevented me from acting out of fear.  Instead of diving headfirst into a flurry of fear-based activity, the circumstances allowed me to create the space for guidance to come.  My next step, regarding the book, was not the focal point of my day, whereas it would have been if I were at home.  My time was quickly filled with new daily routines that directed my focus towards the ways in which I could help Lindsey.  Instead of clinging to my desire to know the next step in my journey, I allowed it to come.  I was able to turn to God for guidance without putting a time frame on when that information should be revealed.  Each morning, I reaffirmed my surrender to His will and trusted that the next step would come.

One particular morning, after some time had passed, I felt moved to begin researching self-publishing opportunities.  I knew when it came time to look into self-publishing, that there were two particular places that I wanted to begin my research.  One was the self-publishing arm of the company that had sponsored the writing contest that I had previously entered and the other was the self-publishing arm of the publishing house that I had had my eye on, since beginning this journey.  I started with self-publishing arm of the first company and then moved onto the latter.  Lo and behold, the latter company was sponsoring a writing contest for non-fiction, spiritually oriented books!  My prayer had just been answered — God had just revealed the next step in my journey!  Will this turn out any differently than the first contest?  There is no way for me to know as the only certainty of the future is God’s role in it.  I trust that a greater plan is at work and continue to open to the guidance that aligns me with my unique plan.

When I look back on the way these events unfolded, I can see that they were always a part of God’s plan.  My trip was never meant to be as I originally planned it.  I was supposed to extend my stay, but I couldn’t have known that until I was there, in those circumstances.  Aligning with divine timing not only meant knowing that I was supposed to extend my trip, it also meant knowing when I was supposed to come home.  I still had to listen, in order to follow.  I could have easily lost myself in the routines that I had become accustomed to in Panama, but I was wary of them becoming my false cover.  My time in Panama was a part of God’s plan for me, but to stay any longer would not have been.  In the end, it was time for me to come home to face the uncertainty of what lie ahead.

Experiencing the uncertainty of the unknown is unavoidable if we want to align with our greater plan.  It is a part of any path of surrender.  There’s no escaping it; there’s only trusting in it.  My advice is to inhale a deep breath, release it, and jump feet first into the free fall of the life we are each meant to live.  To rely on a safety net is to miss the life we were meant to live.  As always, the journey continues….

Much love to all,

Shanna