“The right timing is not always our timing.” ~Joyce Meyer

Dear Universe,

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about timing.

How things line up in our lives, the people we meet, the opportunities that come our way, are in large part due to us “being in the right place at the right time.”

That’s what we say, right?

And then when things don’t line up the way we hope, we call it a case of bad timing.

But I think it’s more complicated than that. Sometimes timing is tricky.

I thought of this the other day as I drove. (I often do my best thinking in the car.) And that’s when a car cut in front of me. I couldn’t believe what I was reading.

It was a taxi and on the trunk it said, “We are always on time.”

Talk about the Universe sending an instant sign.

Yes, I thought. Everything happens right on time, maybe not on the timeline we wished, envisioned or prayed for, but in divine time.

I remember once, years ago, I flew out from Rhode Island to Los Angeles to visit a dear friend. The second night I was there we went out and I thought to shoot a text to a former/current romantic interest. (The lines were a bit blurry as there had been a bit of an on-again-off-again thing in the time we’d known each other). For some reason or another, we hadn’t spoken in a while, and we hadn’t seen each other in a while—given we lived on opposite coasts.

“I’m in L.A. and it made me think of you. Hope you’re doing well.”

He responded almost immediately. “You’re in L.A? Where are you?”

I texted back my location. He responded, “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

Once he arrived, it was clear he wanted us to spend every minute I was in L.A. together. He asked me to be his plus one at a private party the next day where a big name group would be performing. He mapped out all the places he wanted me to see and the restaurants we would eat at.

He was ready to sweep me off my feet.

The thing was, it wasn’t the best timing.

I was there to visit my friend because she was figuring out whether or not her and her long-term boyfriend were going to stay together or move on. I had come to support her, and Romeo hadn’t really been a part of my plan. I wasn’t about to ditch her.

Nevertheless, my friend understood and we continued to spend time with him over the course of the next few days.

The day I was flying home, he insisted that he, and not my friend, would take me to the airport. We all met for dinner and when it was time to leave, I hugged my friend goodbye and got in Casanova’s car. My flight was in a couple of hours.

As soon as I buckled my seatbelt, he turned to me and said, “Don’t leave.”

I must have had a look of shock on my face because he continued.

“Stay with me. Catch another flight tomorrow or the day after that. We need more time together.”

The thing was, romantic as it sounded, I couldn’t stay. I had another flight I needed to catch less than 48 hours from then, in Boston. Heading to Cairo. To visit my family. It was a huge trip and not something I could cancel or easily rearrange. More importantly, my soul was calling me to return to Egypt. I was not missing my flight.

But the timing! Why couldn’t we have more time? Or have better timing?

I explained that—all of which he already knew—but he seemed annoyed nonetheless. I think he wanted me to see that this was our time to finally try and make this work.

But I had the thought, that if we were meant to be, we had all the time in the world. I’d be back from Cairo and then London in another few weeks. Couldn’t we talk while I was away and see each other when I got back?

He dropped me off at the airport. I went in, checked my bag at the gate and then realized my flight had been delayed. I texted to tell him, and he responded he was coming back to get me.

We drove around and he showed me an area he hoped we’d live together someday—if things were to work out. Then he took me to a hotel close to the airport where we grabbed drinks at the bar, passing the time. But he was still annoyed. He, again, asked me to miss my flight and stay.

“How can I miss my flight? I just dropped off my luggage!”

“I’ll take you shopping and buy you whatever you need for the next couple of days.”

“I can’t stay. I have a flight I need to catch in Boston.”

Damn timing.

We went around in circles like this until finally, it was time to take me back to the airport once more. He was cold and distant as we said goodbye.

I intuitively sensed something had shifted on his end. I think he really did feel like it was now or never for us.

The whole flight home I questioned if I made the right choice. I questioned the timing of things. I worried our timing would never line up again.

It did…. eventually.

If this were a movie I would say it led to a happily ever after.

Spoiler alert: It didn’t.

Later I would look back and see that the timing didn’t line up for a reason. He wasn’t my soulmate or my happily-ever-after. He wasn’t the love of my life or the one I felt a never ending, unconditional connection and unbreakable bond with.

He’d become the one I couldn’t forget fast enough.

Sometimes “bad timing” is really a blessing—a way of redirecting you to the path you are meant to be on.

But here’s where it gets tricky. It turns out bad timing is always a blessing.

And here’s why:

Bad timing is either protecting you or preparing you.

The hard part is recognizing the difference.

Things misalign because they are meant to be missed.

Other times things don’t align on our time because we aren’t ready for the magnitude of the blessing yet.

Sometimes things leave only to return at a better time or in a new way and it’s up to us to decide what to do about it.

It’s a dream job offer coming in when you have finally settled into a new job. It’s the love of your life appearing while you are in another relationship. It’s someone asking you to miss your flight when you have somewhere else to be.

Bad timing or opportunity of a lifetime? You decide.

Because even though the answer sometimes isn’t convenient or clear—though sometimes it can be—I do believe this.

There are no accidents or mistakes. Nothing is random or a coincidence. Timing is what we make it to be. Things come when they should and only we get to determine what it means.

Reject it or accept it. Take it or leave it. Turn away from it or turn towards it.

What if it’s not bad timing, but rather the best timing—divine timing?

Because you, Universe, “are always on time.”

It’s just up to us to see it that way.

With Gratitude,