Are you Prepared?

Ok, now you might be asking right now why I sound like a boy scout leader! Well, I'm not a boy scout and I never will be. I do want to be prepared though. All around me lately, there are preparations being made. Some are preparing for: deployment, re-deployment, jobs, parenthood, leadership, marriage, to go home after being in therapy, and some are preparing to meet Jesus. Life just seems to be a gamut of preparations. Why am I asking about this? Well, recently I had the privilege of spending time with a very loving, caring, godly man who I like to call "Pa." A few months ago, pa fell and broke his hip. He has had surgery to repair it and he has been in physical therapy for about two months now. I am amazed every time I go to see him. He always makes sure that people are focused on the Lord and if they are "prepared" to meet him at any time. A few days after I was to arrive home, he was going to be having a meeting with the administrators in the estate to see if he could go home. I loved hearing what he did to "prepare" for that particular meeting. He told me before I left that he wanted to look his best. He was clean shaven, he was having a nice outfit brought up to wear, making sure his hair was cut...he wanted to present himself as best he could. The image in my mind made me smile. I could see him getting ready for this meeting and I remembered how handsome he looked and the meticulous way he used to get dressed for church every week. He was purposeful in his preparations and he always got the opinion of Grammie before they left. Now, you may ask where I am going with all of this. Well, his story ties in with one that my mother shared with me a couple of years ago. Wow, it doesn't seem like it was that long ago! My Grammie always made sure that she looked her best. I didn't appreciate fully all the little things that she did back then the way I do now. I understand it now, and I wonder why I don't follow that example. Even if she had no where to go, she always had on lipstick, her nails were pretty in pink, and she had her hair "fluffed." The story my mother told began with a conversation she was having with Pa. The day that grammie went to be with Jesus, her hair had been washed and the ladies that did it kind of pasted it to her head...yeah, just imagine! So, Pa was up there to read devotions to her...like he had done for countless years. He took the time to gently "fluff" her hair. He didn't realize that when she did it, she was preparing for her groom. When my mom shared this with me, it dawned on me..she had been preparing to meet her groom for 77 years. I started thinking about that a lot this week. How often do I roll...yes roll, out of bed and just throw on some sweats and pull my hair back in a bun or ponytail? How many days do I just say, "I don't feel like putting make up on, Joel knows what I look like without it." What about this one, "He loves me for who I am, not what I look like." Well, what struck me was, "is that the kind of attitude I want to have when Jesus could take me home with him at any time?" Do I want to meet him in sweats and scrunchies? Yes, he knows what I look like no matter what. The issue comes in not "preparing" to meet him. Why would I not want to dress up and look my best for my Lord? Now, of course it's not so much the outward appearance, but the heart. To me, when I say I don't feel like getting dressed up and I don't want to take the time, my attitude needs adjusting. It's an attitude of, "so what, what's the big deal?" Well, it is a big deal. How do you view yourself? Do you realize that you could be taken home any minute to be with the God of the universe..the Savior of the world? We are supposed to adorn ourselves outwardly with pearls, beautiful linens and lace. Like a bride preparing for her groom, we are to adorn ourselves..after all, we are the bride of Christ. Inwardly, how is your heart? Beautifying yourself on the outside is just a facade if you are not preparing your heart. Unfortunately, preparing our hearts is not always as easy as preparing our outward appearance. Do you show and give love to God? Do you show and give love to others? Do you grant grace to people, especially when they don't deserve it? Do you have an attitude of gratitude? Do you practice self-control? Do you thank God in trials as much as you do in the good times? There are so many questions I could ask, but everyone has a different faith walk. Right now, these are just some of the things I ask myself. Do I want to meet my Jesus just as though it's a random meeting; or do I want to prepare myself daily and constantly for his return? Am I going to make sure that my lipstick is on and my hair is fluffed? My Grammie showed that example to me,(even days before her death), my Pa is still showing me that example..and he probably doesn't even realize it! I want to make sure that my inward adornments, match the beauty of the outward jewels and garments. I pray that when my groom comes to escort me into paradise, that I have prepared properly,purposefully, and ecstatically, just as a bride on her wedding day. I love how my pa appreciated how my grammie was more beautiful after almost 60 years of marriage, and how he did for her what she could no longer do. He gently fluffed her hair, and gave her away to her eternal groom. I pray that you are intent in your preparations. I will add one more thing, as military wives, we prepare emotionally for deployments. We get our hearts and minds ready for anything. Let God in on those preparations. He loves to hold us and rock us. He loves to save us...after all, he died on the cross to save us!