Being ready

Imagine that the Queen or some other world leader announced that they were coming to your house for tea.  What would you do?  Most of us would do a mixture of tidying, dusting, cleaning, vacuuming and so on.  Maybe even some painting (it's said that the Queen smells fresh paint wherever she goes) and perhaps a bit of panicking into the bargain.

Preparation is a vital thing.  

In Poole, we have a reminder every time we go to the quay of Robert Baden-Powell and the Scouts, whose motto is 'be prepared'.  (I was never a Scout or Cub but my wife often says I should have been when I pack for every eventuality when going on a trip!)

Jesus often spoke about being ready, prepared and watchful - for the ups and downs and challenges of life, and the prospect of meeting our maker at the end of it.  I recently typed 'readiness' into my search engine and found images of pilots resting but ready to jump into their Spitfires and Hurricanes when required during the Battle of Britain in 1940.  I also remember playing golf with an RAF pilot who was on 3 hour readiness to fly to Afghanistan - naturally he had his mobile close at hand.  As I reflect on this, I think it's a good illustration of being ready but getting on with the daily round of life.  Whatever your situation, I hope you will be ready for the challenges that lie ahead.