Keep your lamps filled...be ready!
In my last post, I alluded to the fact that after moving to this mountaintop property and the blizzard that followed, we learned quickly that it is necessary to prepare...even though in September of 2001 or so, I received a message. It was simple...PREPARE, PREPARE, PREPARE.
According to Webster's Dictionary, the word "prepare" means "to make ready beforehand for some purpose, use, or activity; to put in a proper state of mind; to work out the details of; to put together; to put into written form; to get ready.
To bake a cake, you must first prepare the pan. A meal can't be eaten without someone first preparing the food. Preparing for a move means perhaps selling one property, purchasing another, and packing. A bride prepares for her wedding...flowers, photographer, gown, and so on. When waiting for the impending birth of a baby, there is the preparation of the nursery and all the things that are needed...crib, rocker, clothing, and much more. As I know full well, preparing for the adoption of children requires LOTS of paperwork. Preparations for winter include making sure we have enough wood in, split and stacked, so that we have adequate heat over the cold winter months. In preparation for spring, leaves from the oak trees that fell over the winter need to be raked, branches and twigs that lay in the yard need to be picked up before mowing. Before a garden can be planted, there is the preparation of the soil and the purchase and planting of seeds or plants.
While it seems there are some things that a person just can't realistically prepare for...the breakdown of a furnace or vehicle, a tragic accident, the loss of a loved one, even flight delays caused by events such as the volcano eruption in Iceland which stranded thousands of travelers, including my sister who hopes to finally be back in the U.S. today, most everything does require preparation, getting ready, being ready.I had a very interesting conversation last night with my 10-year-old daughter who was saved at the age of 3 years. In many respects, she is wise beyond her years. Her questions centered around the Second Coming of Jesus...questions like do we shed our physical bodies before rising up into the skies towards heaven, do we die first (if we are among the living) before going to heaven, what about the people who have already died and are buried, do just our spirits rise? I couldn't give her exact answers because I really don't know, but in a vision prior to the adoption of our youngest child, I saw us as a family floating upwards. Our bodies were intact and we were fully clothed. I don't know if that is the answer or not, but I do know where my family and I will spend eternity...in Heaven. We each have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
"A voice of one who cries: Prepare in the wilderness the way of the Lord [clear away the obstacles]; make straight and smooth in the desert a highway for our God!" Isaiah 40:3 (Amplified)
