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Tanned and Ready

WARNING: Content is girly chick-stuff.

I see parallels in everyday life that serve as excellent examples of my spiritual walk with God. Many times I don’t post these because they seem a bit superficial and girly. But I was encouraged this morning while talking with my daughter about a parallel she saw in nail polish (more on that later). So, I decided to share my most recent insight with you.

The story begins with me and my girls in Walmart. We are chattering about white legs, summer and sunless tanning lotion. We decide on a product, make our purchase and happily apply it all week. It works and we are elated.

Fast forward 3 weeks… I have tired of the “chore” of applying the lotion evenly each day and find myself skipping days in a row. The conversation in my head goes something like this:

“You better put it on, as soon as a hot day comes, you will wish you had tan legs when you want to wear shorts or go to the lake…”

“It’s so much work, and it’s chilly today, I’m going to wear jeans so it won’t matter…”

 “Just put it on so you’ll be ready and won’t regret it in a few days…”

Ok, I know, I know…. It’s not like tan legs are an important part of life to begin with. And you can be sure there are way more important things on my mind, lest you write me off as an airhead who cannot think deeper than which color to paint her toe nails.

But sometimes it’s the little trivial things that paint a picture to bring a bigger issue into better focus. Being prepared. Being ready. With no regrets. Now this is an important part of life. Being ready is so much more than saying a prayer or making a decision. So much more.

Matthew 25 speaks of 10 virgins waiting for their bridegroom. All 10 were watching and waiting. All 10 had lamps with oil in them. But only 5 were wise and took extra oil in jars, very prepared in case the bridegroom was delayed. Verse 5 tells us the bridegroom was “a long time in coming” and all 10 virgins fell asleep.

The preparedness of the 5 wise can be seen in verses 6-7. When the bridegroom arrived at midnight, they arose, lit their lamps and went with him to the wedding banquet. The foolish virgins missed out. “And the door was shut.” The difference was in being prepared. The plans made for a possible long wait allowed the wise to be ready.

Jesus ends this parable with the words, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” There will be no time to prepare when He comes, we must be ready and remain so.

The Greek word gregoreuo is translated “watch”. It gives the meaning of watching, giving attention to, being cautious. So, tanned legs or not, gregoreuo, sisters! Let’s be prepared.

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