getting ready

This is the time of year when we get ready for many different things...

Most immediately, 18 of us are getting ready to go to New Orleans for a week...t-shirts are here, notarized forms are turned in, plane tickets ready, van rentals organized, nametags made, "fun" activity reserved, directions printed out, dress code emphasized and re-emphasized.

Other things need to be made ready too...
...some of our youth are getting ready to go to college...
...some of our youth are getting ready to go to high school...
...we are getting ready for the September 9 Kick-Off Day...
...we are getting ready for a new year in Sunday School, with a new curriculum in place...
...I am getting ready for next year's Confirmation Class...
...I am getting ready for a new youth group season...
...the world is getting ready for the release of Harry Potter...and I am getting ready for the internet and media to be filled with spoilers (so no browsing for me until after I get back from New Orleans and get a chance to read the book!)...
...we are getting ready to articulate how we are church together and how we can be church better...

I wonder if we will ever be ready, really ready? What happens when the Holy Spirit breaks into our readiness and we find out we weren't ready at all? Part of me is desperate for everything to go according to plan, for my plans and my preparations to be perfect. But another part of me hopes that God will come and mess up the plan and show us all a more excellent way.







...I just hope the messing up the plan doesn't come in the form of injuries or illnesses on this trip. 6 days--we can all be healthy for 6 days, right?

We're as ready as we're going to be.