Perhaps it is basic human skepticism — or a society growing more anxious — that makes the concept of divine timing feel increasingly implausible.

But then there's the story of Ahmond Gomez, who recently became the newest professional athlete in New London's already impressive pageant. "Mondoe," as many of us knew him during this days playing football and basketball at New London High, recently signed a contract to play arena football with the Jacksonville Sharks, a charter member of the National Arena League.

And his story trumpets the hope, wonder and spiritual mystery tethered to divine timing, the belief that all delays are beneficial and that everything — from the mundane to the extraordinary — occurs exactly on time, controlled by something more universal and powerful.

"I've always been a big believer in God," Gomez, 26, who hasn't played a football game since 2018, was saying last week. "I've always had different people telling me God will do this for you and God will do that for you if you just keep pushing."

Gomez's story is best told chronologically, if for no other reason than to properly frame his numerous God moments.

He graduated from New London in 2013, a starting cornerback for defensive coordinator and later head coach Juan Roman.

"I used to call him the Everson Walls of New London. Not the fastest guy, but the guy who made all the plays," Roman said. "Really smart. Always found a way to get a pick. Crafty. I would always communicate with him because I knew he'd communicate with the other DBs. If I yelled it to him, he would echo it. The whole defense would know. An extension of coach on the field."

Gomez didn't get many college looks, but figured out how to walk on at Central Connecticut. He didn't merely start the first game, but picked off a pass to help beat Towson State.

"But in the spring I couldn't afford school anymore. I needed a scholarship," Gomez said. "It wasn't happening. So I had to look somewhere else. It was getting late. I e-mailed I bet 30 schools and didn't hear anything and camp was a week away."

God moment I: Gomez suddenly heard from Div. II Chowan University in Murfreesboro, N.C., located in the northeast part of the state about an hour from Norfolk, Va. Full disclosure from Gomez: It didn't feel like a God moment at the time.

"Two gas stations. One grocery store. You could walk from one side of town to the other in 25 minutes," Gomez said. "My dad dropped me off and I knew I was stuck. Middle of nowhere. No choice but to make it work. But the best school I ever went to. I love that place."

Gomez's college career was good enough to render hope. Or so he thought. He was invited to some all-star games, trained with NFL players and went to combines just to make one connection. Never happened. But in divine timing, all delays are beneficial.

"I was ready to give up," he said. "But I couldn't. I had people telling me 'the dew of heaven is on you. You're going to have a great career. Just keep going.' Crazy stuff."

God moment II: "A regular mundane day," Gomez said, "and I get a text from my pastor Devin Johnson. It says, 'You need to get an agent.' I explained that I'd done the agent thing for a few years. They hung up on me. I didn't want to go through it again."

God moment III: Gomez said Johnson's text came at 10 a.m. By 4 p.m. the same day, a college friend texted him the name of a player representative and a sports agency.

"I'd been hurt so many times I still didn't want to do it," Gomez said. "I gave it a couple of days. I told my friend I'm not going to call, but if there's really interest, to have the people call me. They called me in an hour."

Gomez learned he had options to perhaps play overseas or arena. But he hadn't played football in four years. Who'd really want him? Gomez, leery of spending the money, took the chance to sign with a sports agency nonetheless.

"I got a phone call a month ago," Gomez said. "Jacksonville was looking at me. They saw my tape from 2017. They wanted me anyway. They said, 'What's it going to take to get you down here?'"

And now Ahmond Gomez is a pro athlete. Camp starts in March. The first regular season game — perhaps another God moment — is close enough for friends and family to see: In Albany on April 23.

And not necessarily for the obvious reasons. Gomez believes in spreading the word about divine timing, his spirituality and its enduring messages. It's already begun with "Faith On The Field" on Gomez's YouTube channel.

"Everybody has a ministry, no matter what it may look like," he said. "Not everybody is going to be a preacher. Not everybody will be active in the church. But if you are in the community affecting the lives of other people, I want to use my platform to introduce people to a peace, a way, a different light.

"We've done things our way for so long. It's hard sometimes to serve a God you can't see. But when you become grateful and thankful it's easy to surrender. You don't pray as hard when things are going well. In trying times, you get connected. People forget it's a relationship. There are ups and downs. But you're always where to need to be. God is like, "I got you. Just trust it.'"

Gomez still walks among us until camp. He was recently married and works at Progression Training in Groton with childhood friend Keith Porter training young athletes. Except that on April 23, "Mondoe" joins Kris Dunn, Jordan Reed, David Reed, Rajai Davis and A.J. Dillon in the recent list of New London High professional pantheon.

"I feel like I'm walking into my moment," Gomez said. "The journey so far has been a lot of scratching and clawing. My hope from here out is that things line up. Get to Jacksonville and perform the way I know I can."

Ahmond Gomez: Surrender, have faith, don't worry. You're always where you need to be.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro