God doesn’t waste a single detail. Not one.
I’ve learned that on the water more times than I can count… but the one moment that stands out tonight… Was the night of 5 November 2020.
We had just sailed into Hout Bay. Our very first sail. Two people who had no business being on a sailboat if you asked anyone with sense… and yet here we were. We had done it. God had said go, and we had gone.
I stood on the deck that evening and I couldn’t stop looking around. The mountains. The harbour. The fishing boats. This place we had never seen before… and we had sailed here. These two “old” people were standing on the deck of this little boat – our only possession in the world – and we were here. Not because we were brave. Not because we were skilled. But because our Father had said go… and somehow we had found the courage to listen.
And then the fireworks started.
It was Guy Fawkes. We had completely forgotten. But Hout Bay hadn’t. Hundreds of people lined the harbour, crackers shooting into the sky, bangs echoing off the mountains, colours raining down onto the water. And we stood there… salty, exhausted, overwhelmed… watching the sky explode over this place God had brought us to.
It felt like all of heaven knew. Like every firework was God’s way of saying… I see you. I see your obedience. I see your fear and I see your faith and I am celebrating with you tonight.
It was a moment with YAHWEH that I still struggle to put into words. The kind of moment where the presence of God is so thick and so real that you can’t speak… you can only stand there and let the tears run.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
And then… later that night… it hit us.
5 November.
My dad’s birthday.
My dad who passed away in January 2014. My dad whose birthday I carry in my heart every single year. And on this day – this day of all the days God could have chosen for our first sail – He chose the 5th of November.
Andre and I realised it at the same time. And the tears came… different tears now. Still joy. Still gratitude. But bittersweet in a way that only grief and grace together can be.
Because that’s the thing about God’s timing. It’s never just about one thing. It’s layers. It’s depth. It’s Him weaving together the threads of your life in ways you couldn’t plan if you tried.
He didn’t just give us our first sail that day. He gave us a moment that held my dad in it. A date that meant something long before it meant this. And He placed it all together – the courage, the water, the fireworks, the birthday – like only He can.
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”
– Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV
I couldn’t have planned that day. I couldn’t have chosen a more perfect date if I’d sat down with a calendar and tried. But God… our Father who sees the beginning and the end all at once… He knew. He knew that we needed the fireworks to mark the moment. He knew that my heart needed to hold my dad and my future in the same breath.
That’s who He is. The God of perfect timing. Not our timing… His. And His is always better. Always deeper. Always holding more than we can see in the moment.
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” – Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV
Girl, if you’re waiting on God right now… if it feels like His timing doesn’t make sense… if you’re wondering why He hasn’t moved yet or why He moved when He did… can I tell you something?
He is not late. He is not early. He is not random.
Every detail matters to Him. Every date. Every moment. Every tear and every firework. He is the God who holds time in His hands, and He is weaving something so beautiful with your story that you won’t see it all until you look back and realise…
He had it planned all along.
Even the parts that hurt.
Even the parts that made you cry with joy and grief in the same breath.
Especially those parts.
A Prayer for God’s Timing
Abba Father…
Thank You that Your timing is perfect. Thank You that You don’t waste a single detail of our lives… not a date, not a memory, not a tear. Lord, You knew what the 5th of November would mean to us before we ever untied those dock lines. You held my dad’s birthday and our first sail in the same hand… and You let us feel both at once.
Jesus, help us to trust Your timing when we can’t see the full picture. Help us to believe that You are working in the details… the ones we notice and the ones we miss. Teach us to wait on You without losing hope, and to celebrate when You move in ways we never expected.
Thank You for fireworks, Lord. Thank You for the moments that take our breath away and remind us that You see everything… every part of our story… and You call it good.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
This is part of the “Lessons from the Water” series. If you haven’t read the story of our very first sail, you can find it here: Our First Sail: Fear, Faith & Fireworks
