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Believe it or not, my high school's cheerleading squad used to a have routine that ended, "your team ain't even ready" (addressed to the opposing team). The crowd used to literally "rock" to this in the stands (it even had its own stand-based choreography). This is what we would hear and rally to in the bleachers, even when the home basketball team would be down. If only we were as ready as those chants were...
So many times we want answers- I know I project and make them up to fit my mood instead of asking questions, praying, and actively waiting. Even though we typically do not understand what we should or reorient ourselves to a different, non-selfie-centered view, we must learn to be content with the "reel" or better "real" that God has unraveled.
God makes everything beautiful in its time. You know what you know and sometimes that is all you will ever know. Frankly, what we know is frequently emblematic of us not being "ready." In replaying this week, I have been reminded of what it means to be unready- repeatedly. I am so unready when I believe I have proved myself ready. Fortunately, being unready can be a healthy, helpful, and hearty place to be. You cannot be there forever, but it may be a place you need to submit to for the time being.
Being unready reminds you that you are dependent. It reminds you to think things through. It forces you to live- often in an uncomfortable space. I am reminded how quickly I do not like to wait "in my readiness". I prefer incision, the ability to make decisions, even when I do not know a quarter of what I should or need. I have been working on a few at-home projects: digitizing files, destroying old records, and memorializing past trips. I needed help with the first as I did not want to dedicate the time. I needed motivation for the second. I needed to think through what I was doing, acquire crafts, and get some assistance with a tool I did not have for the last. Most of these realizations did not occur until during or after. I needed to wait, although I had been "ready" to do all of these for the past 2+ years.
Isn't it just easier to rush things along? Wait. I'd rather have things categorized as a "yes" or "no," "do it" or don't" when in fact I just need time: for more to be revealed, to think through, and reorient my perspective. So often, we (I mean, "I") want to definitively place a person in a "go" "no go" box, forgetting that a "no" can turn into a "ready to go" and a "go" can turn into an "unprepared" and "no." Wait. Life is often a game, an adventure of waiting. I am so thankful I waited- for things, for people, for opportunity, for maturity. Aren't you glad others waited for and waited with you? I am so grateful others waited for me and allowed me to get ready. Imagine when or if someone villainized you in your waiting. How often do we?
Have you thought the person you are talking to may just not be ready? Are you yourself ready? Do you (or others) have what you need? Why might you or others be waiting?
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