Timing The SHIFT

Shifting requires timing. Rush ahead and you stall, hold back too long and you miss momentum. In this episode, I share our daughter’s transplant story, the forty-minute delay, the surgeon’s concern, her bold faith, and the miracle match that arrived in weeks rather than years. I also share why I was not the donor, and how my own breast cancer diagnosis months later revealed God’s protection through timing.

Learn a simple Neutral Before Next routine that helps you align with God’s pace, trade striving for surrender, and take one faithful step.

Transcript

Welcome back to SHIFT.

I'm so glad to have you here as we begin episode six.

If you'll remember we're using an acronym to describe shift and change.

We've already gone through seeing,

Hearing,

Influence,

Fighting,

And today we're talking about timing.

Shifting requires timing.

When I first learned to drive a stick shift,

I'd start out strong,

But if I rushed,

If I went too far too fast,

The car would buck,

It would stall,

And it would stop.

Timing mattered,

And life can feel the same way.

If we push ahead too fast,

We stall,

Hold back too long,

And we miss momentum.

But when we move at God's timing,

It's smooth,

It's powerful,

And it's unstoppable.

God's timing is never late,

Never early,

It's always right on time.

You've walked this journey with me through our daughter's story.

In episode five,

I shared how we fought back,

How we got back up after being told that I was no longer a donor match,

And that it would take a miracle for her to find one.

That word miracle did not scare us.

Even though we were weary,

Even though we were tired,

It excited us because we've seen God's miracles before up close and personal.

We believed that he's not short on miracles,

And we were expecting another one.

We got her on the deceased donor list quickly,

But the living donor exchange process was more involved.

We started in September,

And by October 7th,

Not years as we were told,

Just weeks,

We received a call.

There was a match,

A deceased donor.

God's timing was impeccable.

With our first transplant,

We had our bags packed for a year.

This time,

No bags,

No over-preparing.

Not from doubt,

But from trust.

And God far exceeded our expectations.

As tears rolled down my face,

And I was taking notes from the coordinator on the instructions we needed to follow,

My son grabbed my luggage,

My husband packed me up,

My daughter packed up her things,

And then we paused.

We prayed for the donor family.

Every gift of life comes at a cost to someone.

After we started on our drive,

Just a little after nine that evening,

We received a call.

Forty minutes into the drive,

It was a two-hour drive,

And the coordinator said,

If there's a safe place to pull over,

Please do.

One of the labs is not looking like a match,

And we need to rerun it.

She said she would call us back in five minutes.

Well,

This was a true test of faith and patience,

Because that five minutes turned into forty.

At 9.

59,

I prayed to God and said,

Lord,

At ten o'clock,

I'm calling her back.

I've tried to be patient,

Knowing that I stopped praying for patience a long time ago,

Because I know the process that we must endure to gain that level of patience.

At ten o'clock sharp,

The coordinator called back,

Apologizing for the length of time that it had taken.

She said,

You can get back on the road and start driving,

Because she is still a match.

I let her know we never stop driving.

Remember,

Faith is a function,

Not a feeling.

When we arrived at the hospital,

More testing was to be done,

Much more testing,

And around three o'clock in the morning,

They let us know that the final results were in,

And she was a complete match,

And she was also the first one to be scheduled for surgery.

For me,

I wasn't going to let out a complete exhale until after she was in the operating room.

When we were in pre-op,

The surgeon came in,

And he was hesitant.

He let us know plainly that he did not want to proceed with the surgery.

He had concerns after looking at her EKG that she might not be able to survive the surgery.

He said that he wasn't going to make the final decision.

He would leave it up to the nephrologist,

And he would know something within the next 15 minutes.

I was still processing all of his words and still preparing to pray when my daughter looked over at me.

She looked me straight in the eye,

And she said,

Mom,

I see that look on your face,

And I need you to know this kidney is mine,

And if I go to heaven before you do,

I'll be with Jesus.

I'll see my Nana and my Papa J and all our other loved ones,

So don't worry about me.

That moment for me was everything.

Watching her all these years since she was a four-year-old little girl,

Now to a woman in her 30s,

Seeing her faith grow and mature with all of the difficulties that she's faced.

I knew mine had matured,

But to see hers mature,

To see her lean into God was such a gift.

We surrendered her life a long time ago.

Our prayer became,

Lord,

If you will,

We know you can.

Nevertheless,

Your will be done.

We completely left it up to him whether he would heal her in our arms or his.

Minutes later,

The nephrologist cleared her.

He said that this surgery,

This transplant,

Was her best option.

Surgery moved forward,

And it was a success,

And she's been living her best life ever since.

She has her days,

Those sick days,

Those times in the emergency room or the hospital,

But they are far less than they were before,

And the good days are very good,

And she enjoys them to the greatest extent that she can.

Now,

Here's the other twist.

As I mentioned before,

Just months later,

I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

If I had donated a kidney,

My body wouldn't have prepared for the next fight.

Timing,

God's timing,

Is everything.

Delay is not denial,

It's preparation.

Fam,

Timing is the teacher.

My rush with the stick shift mirrored my Russian life.

Human impulse craves immediacy,

But divine wisdom develops in seasons,

And delay does not equal denial.

That 40-minute lab felt endless,

But it wasn't wasted.

It was continuing to shape my endurance.

Sometimes God pauses us,

Not to punish us,

But to prepare us,

To keep us sharp,

And remember pace is part of purpose.

With our first transplant,

We packed our bags for a year,

Waiting.

Intention.

This time,

No bags,

Just trust,

And God exceeded everything we ever expected.

Timing taught us the difference between striving and surrendering.

And remember,

Faith is not a feeling,

It's a function.

Our daughter's bold declaration,

This kidney is mine,

Reminds us that faith is not a fragile emotion.

It's rooted in trust.

It's moving your feet,

Even when there are parts of you that still say,

I'm not sure.

God will protect our pace.

My cancer diagnosis months later revealed I couldn't be the donor.

The no to me was a bigger yes to her and to me.

God's pace is protection,

Not punishment,

And those closed doors,

Thank God for them,

Because they're redirection.

So let's talk about a few real-life connections.

In your career,

You're sitting in that job that you prayed for,

But you're wanting more,

And God's letting you know that it'll happen in his timing.

There may be something that's incomplete where you are,

Someone else that he's using you to touch or help mature in their walk,

And it may just be that he's giving you a few extra tools along the way.

Delay isn't holding you back,

It's strengthening your foundation.

Thank him for it.

And in your relationships,

Forcing commitment on your timeline breeds fear and confusion.

Healthy pacing fosters clarity and covenant.

In your health,

I know everyone is selling instant change,

Diets,

And all of these plans,

But for sustainable rhythms,

Rest,

Nourishment,

Consistency are God's gift for longevity.

Go at his pace.

In your calling and your creativity,

The door is real,

But your character is still catching up.

God isn't withholding,

He's protecting you from premature exposure.

Trust his pace.

In your finances,

I know you want a quick flip,

I know you want a quick fix,

But often those result in winding right back up in that same financial mess.

Instead,

Trust God as he teaches you wise stewardship.

It compounds peace and security.

I'd like to share a little practical wisdom for this week.

Neutral before next.

Before you take the next step,

Go back to neutral and seek God.

Apply the stoplight rule.

If it feels forced,

It's red.

If peace and provision are aligning in your life,

It's a green light.

But if you're unclear,

It's yellow.

Wait,

Pray,

And watch.

This week,

Remember that most all of us have at times prayed away the very things that God sent to prepare us.

There are times that we've called divine interruptions disruptions,

And we've pushed away God's pace for our own,

Which prolonged the journey.

Remember,

Israel turned an 11-day trek into 40 years because they dismissed God's timing.

Don't let impatience keep you circling the same mountain.

Our anchor scripture for this week is Ecclesiastes 3,

Verse 1.

For everything there is a season,

And a time for every matter under heaven.

Your reflection question for this week is where are you tempted to rush right now,

And what one surrendered step can you take this week to practice God's timing instead of your own timing?

As we close,

Are you running ahead of God,

Or are you walking in step with him?

Remember,

Delay is not denial.

Neutral isn't stuck.

It's alignment.

And timing,

God's timing,

Is never late,

Never early.

It's always right on time.

That's it for today,

Fans.

Stay ready,

Shift higher.

This is your shift podcast.