Remember when you played hide ’n seek as a kid and the seeker counted to 50 or 100 and then announced, “Ready or not, here I come?”
That little phrase is the mantra of my life these days, as time has kicked into turbo drive and events appear on my wall calendar WAY before my internal calendar is ready for them.
But ready or not, here they come.
For example, I’m having a hard time wrapping my brain around the reality that it’s time for Christmas again. Actually, “hard time” is a vast understatement–“in total denial” might be more accurate.
This is starting to become a yearly pattern and frankly, it’s disturbing.
When I was a kid, the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas seemed to last for-ev-er. Of course, back then, almost every day of the year unfolded slowly, probably because I spent so much time sitting in classrooms watching clock hands tortuously tick, tick, tick, away the minutes until it was time for recess, lunch, or at least the blessed end of math class.
But time slowed to an even more excruciating crawl as the final Christmas countdown began.
Now, however, after half a century of living, things are oh, so different. Time is a giant snowball speeding down a steep hill. I barely get the 4th of July sparklers snuffed out before it’s time to start unpacking Christmas ornaments.
I was in a store about mid-October this year when I became aware that Elvis was singing a Christmas carol over the speaker system. It made me want to cover my ears and run from the store screaming, “Somebody make it STOP!” (I didn’t, which is why I am writing this in the comfort of my own house, and not in a padded cell.)
It was 80-plus degrees outside, for Pete’s sake. I was wearing flip flops. I felt like they’d just cleared the shelves of plastic Easter eggs the week before. Hearing Elvis croon, “O Little Town of Bethlehem” made my brain go, “tilt…tilt…tilt.”
I wasn’t coping well with the early appearance of Thanksgiving Butterballs in the meat section, so there was no way I was in the mood yet to deck my halls with boughs of holly, fa-la-la-la-la.
But, ready or not, here it came.
Thanksgiving is now over, and I’m relieved to report that I did, in fact, get in the mood to cook and appropriately celebrate that wonderful day. Driving home from our Thanksgiving festivities, we passed houses freshly adorned with Christmas decorations. My husband commented, “It sure seems like we just bought last year’s Christmas tree a couple of months ago.”
Seems I’m not the only one riding this racing snowball downhill.
I know that any day now, my brain will catch up with my calendar and I’ll be ready to deck my halls and spread some Christmas cheer.
Good thing, because ready or not, here it comes.
Now, speaking of preparing for big events, I have an eternally important question for you: Are your brain and heart wrapped around the concept of Jesus coming again? Might want to be sure your relationship with Him is solid, because ready or not, here He comes.
“So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Matthew 24:44)
“May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes…” (1 Thessalonians 3:13)