Do you ever wonder how much time is spent just getting ready in the morning? Some of us take longer than others. Some need to take a tad bit longer. The other day I was sitting next to a woman at the nail salon, who had to be in her 80s, wearing skinny jeans and a white sequined baseball cap. She smiled at me with her ruby red lipstick and Mimi blue eyeshadow. I wondered how long it had taken her to get out the door.

If you think about it, we are constantly getting ready. Not just every morning before we leave the house, but all through life. Remember in 6th grade when your teacher said, “Now pay close attention. You’ll need to know this in junior high.” And then in junior high you were told to listen carefully because you’d need the information in high school. It was as if everything you were learning was for what was coming next.

A lot of preparation is intentional and focused. There’s no telling how many hours Jason swam training for a 20 second race his freshman year in college. Everything he had done up to that point was getting him ready for 20 seconds. We prepare for meetings, plan presentations, or rehearse lines for theater all getting ready for an event. There’s a purpose with the time investment.

However, the majority of what we are preparing for is most likely unintentional. We never know what we are getting ready for. What we’re doing today is most likely getting us ready for what’s next. We may not be happy where we are right now, but instead of complaining we should take note and learn. Like our grade school teachers told us, “Pay attention, you’ll need this.”

“...And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this.”
~ Esther 4:14