Back to School

Parents everywhere are rejoicing as by this time of year everyone is back to school. The first chapel back is always fun. The new kindergarten students serving as acolytes for the first time looked so proud, and a little unsure, as they processed. In honor of backpacks and making lunches and the return, for many of us, of routine, I brought an alarm clock in my box.

This clock is older, and it chimes the hours and will chime at a certain time if you set it to, although it is too old to have a snooze setting. In our house everyone has an alarm clock. Mine goes off at 5:30am, so I can go to the gym. My husband's goes off a bit later, and he leaves to run. The older boys are supposed to be up around 6:00am, to slowly shower, eat breakfast, make lunches, and be ready for the carpool at 7:00am. Round three of wake ups are around 7am, when my two at St. Mark's repeat the process so they can be at school by 8am. And then every once in a while there is the day. The day when, for some reason, the alarm doesn't go off, it doesn't ring, or buzz, or turn on loud music or if it did the soundness of our sleep prevented us from even noticing it. The day when we all wake up and realize we are going to be late or have missed the start of school already. And while I try to get everyone to pack up backpacks and pick out clothes and be as prepared as possible the night before, on the day, the day when we oversleep, none of those preparations have happened either.

When I think about the story of the ten bridesmaids, the ones waiting patiently for the bridegroom. The ones who fell asleep while waiting and half of them woke up with lamps that were out and no way to light them again in time, the ones that miss the banquet, I think of that sense of panic when we sleep through the alarm. That sense of confusion, of waking up and wondering what time is it and then looking around at your room, and then realizing you've missed it. Whatever it was-no matter how important-you aren't going to be ready in time.

We never know when opportunities to serve Christ are going to present themselves. We never know when he's going to come back. And so our hearts need to be prepared for him all the time, so that even when we oversleep, (as God knows we will) we can still make the party.