A Global Advent: 25 Stories of God With Us Around the WorldSample

Timing is everything. Especially during the Christmas season. We time our turkeys, our errands, our visits, and even the days left until Christmas. Maybe you’ve never slowed down enough to think about the timing of Christmas as you manage your timers, notifications, and big red X’s on your calendar. But perhaps today, there is a moment to consider that God thought about the timing of Christmas. And His timing is always perfect. “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son.” (Gal. 4:4) Where we may find ourselves full of questions and worries about the timing of our lives, God is present in every moment, working out His good plans. This is the case for Mary in Tanzania. Her story begins in January 2020 when her son Michael’s Compassion centre encouraged her and some other mothers to begin farming for added security. With friends, Mary rented a one-acre plot of land and planted maize and beans. It was a decision she would thank God for when the COVID-19 pandemic hit Tanzania just two weeks later. [IMAGE CONTENT] Photo Caption: Mary sits outside her home with her two boys, Colvin and Michael. For Mary's family, things took a turn for the worse. "My partner lost his job, and I suddenly got very ill. He was the one doing everything for me. Because we both could not work, we had to start using the money that we had saved,” she says. Within weeks they had spent almost all the money they had. “I felt like we were going back to the life that we used to live before Michael got registered into Compassion's program, and I was afraid," says Mary. However, at that time, the group farming initiative began flourishing. “When we advised parents to farm, we had not foreseen the impact of COVID-19," says project coordinator, Yonah. "But it eventually worked out perfectly, especially during a time when they are trying to get back on their feet." [IMAGE CONTENT] Photo Caption: Mary sits in her home with her beans. The women were able to harvest their crops at a time when the families needed the food the most. From their one-acre land, the 10 women harvested 100 kilograms of beans. Each woman took home 10 kilograms! “I have never been able to buy more than a quarter kilogram of beans. Having 10 kilograms means that my family has food for months,” Mary says. Take a moment to reflect on how God’s timing reveals His presence in your own story.