Are You Ready?

Tuesday, August 4th, 2020

5:45 AM

The sudden peal of shrill beeping noises from my alarm clock slices through my thick haze of sleep. I stifle a groan, roll over, and punch the Snooze button. I'm not ready to get up yet.

I'd been up till half past eleven the night before with a new book. It had seemed worth it at the time, but now . . . All my body wants to do is sleep, not awaken at 5:45 to brush out my hair and ready for the day. 

I burrow deeper into the covers. Just for a few more minutes . . .

As you can probably guess, those "few minutes" quickly turn into another hour. Before I know it, it's a quarter to seven, and I don't feel any closer to rising. 

From downstairs, I hear bowls and spoons clattering as my siblings have their breakfast. Rain pounds on the windows outside, while violent gusts of wind whip tree branches against the glass. I grimace. For sure this storm wins the prize as one of the worst we've had so far this summer.

I release a breath and pull my blanket farther up over my shoulders. No running for me today, I reckon.

Oh, well. All the more time to work on WIPs inside a warm, cozy house.

Energized by this idea, I'm just about to crawl from bed when my little sister, Marah, comes in. She plops down in my rolling desk chair and strikes up a "hello, darling" type of chat. (does this occur every morning? hm, yep, just about. nothin' out of the normal about it.) In mid-conversation, we hear a strange ringing. Neither one of us can place where it comes from, so we go on in our talking.

Suddenly, one of my brothers leaps into my room and exclaims, "Ellie! Get downstairs now. There's a tornado warning!"

Marah springs from the chair, and I shoot to a sitting position. "Wait, what?!"
My hands fly to my tangled hair. I still have to use the bathroom. And my Kindle remains unopened, the next part of my daily Scriptural reading undone. I'm not ready!

No time now. According to our radars, the tornado is close.

I push back my blanket and make a mad grab for my computer, Kindle (+ Bible), hairbrush, watch, a couple hair bands, phone . . . essentially anything I can think to find in the next frantic two minutes. From the floor below, Mom yells for me to "c'mon!" 

Arms full, I charge down the stairs, flannel pajama bottoms sweeping my ankles and with my hair tumbling in loose waves around my face after a brisk, ten-second combing. 

Please, God, keep us safe! 

Thankfully, after about twenty minutes in the basement, the threat goes off, and our house is still in one piece . . . and now my stomach is growling for something to eat. I scurry upstairs (so much for not running, heh?) to stuff a jug of almond milk and a package of Special K into my mail bag (which was hanging conveniently from the railing), then return to the basement to eat.

I notice my hands shaking as I pour cereal into my bowl. Boy howdy, was I so not prepared for this! 

Mid-morning, as the clouds clear and bright, glorious sunshine spills down, I can't help but notice the parallels between this true story and the life of an unbeliever. 

They push off getting ready for Jesus' Second Coming. "I've got plenty of time," they say. Well, so did I . . . or at least that's how it seemed. Until the call came, and I realized I wasn't even close to ready. 

Jesus told us that His return will be like a "thief in the night." Unexpected with no warning. 

Are you ready? 

Friends, the breath you're taking right now could very well be your last. Are you prepared to face Jesus? Or will the time come for Him to bring you home and you panic, realizing you've never repented, never asked Him to enter your heart, and now it's too late?

Please, don't wait one second longer. Right here, right now, confess to God that you're a sinner in need of forgiveness and His love, and you'll be guaranteed a room in Heaven. Best of all, once you have Jesus in your heart, you're 100% ready for that moment when He returns to bring you home. <3

Praying for you all! 

Blessings,

Ellen S.