Prepared? Ready? No!

Teeth-chatter

Brisk

Cracking

Wind-burn

Shivering

Brittle

Frost-bite

Chills

Numb

The bitter cold has its own vocabulary.  It speaks to the conditions created by uncommon weather.  Those in arctic regions utilize these words frequently, but in my part of the country they are used only when we seem surprised by the dropping temps.  It isn’t common in Oregon to have the temperature drop to freezing and stay there for several days. This past week it did just that.  Schools closed, cars slowed down, pipes broke, electricity stopped flowing, and life was found being lived wrapped in blankets by fireplaces and wood stoves. 

“Not prepared,” would be the verdict by those on the local news channels. 

• Not prepared for cold temps.
• Not prepared for power outages. 
• Not prepared for pipes exploding. 
• Not prepared for slowing down life. 

Yet, when bundled up with a cup of hot cocoa, a nice fuzzy blanket, and a warm fire a glow, it seems like this may have been the plan all along.

Prepared? No. 

I have realized, I may not be prepared for everything that comes at me in life. The dropping temps, the pipe I didn’t check, the traffic jam, all can become catalysts for being better prepared in the future.  I think we all need a night bundled up with family, a night in front of a fire or around some lit candles, a night that frees us to just “be.” 

Life often takes on the vocabulary with which I began this post.  Maybe you are numb to life right now.  Maybe you are cracking or your teeth are chattering because of fear.   Chills run up and down as you doubt, question, or await what is around the next corner.  Your life seems brittle and ready to fall apart at any second.  And probably the newscasters of your life are all claiming you “not prepared.” 

Prepared? No.

Ironically, we are in the season of Advent – a time of preparation.  A time to light candles, slow down, take in the sights and sounds of the emerging Christmas.  Yet, it seems that life is lacking preparation at just about every level right now. 

How can I slow down as I ramp-up for Christmas?

How can I take in the sights and sounds with all the busyness?

How can Christmas emerge when I am trying to keep it boxed up and put away until I am ready?

Prepared? No.  Ready? No. 

I don’t think Mary and Joseph were ready to have a baby in a stinky animal stall that first Christmas night.  As all newbie parents, they weren’t ready for the awkwardness of a first child. Come on – they hadn’t even planned to have a baby, or have angels announce it, or the hell they had to go through with family and friends before the birth. 

Prepared? Ready? Not quite. 

So, through the craziness, busyness, and lack of preparation, may God help our eyes to be opened, our ears to hear, our souls to slow down.  That we would come to a quiet space at the manger and be reminded that we will never be fully prepared or ready – but that God was and always will be.

God prepared? God Ready?  YES!  Come, Lord Jesus!