There it is! Can you hear it? It's that beloved sound of a diesel engine & tires hitting the gravel on our country road. The Darlings & I eagerly await this precious sound each day! Regardless of what mayhem is happening at the given moment, our ears perk up & we race to the mudroom to greet Daddy when he walks through the door. This is my (& the Darlings') favorite time of day...the time when our family is complete & the man that we adore is back where he belongs...with us! This magical moment never gets old, but if you were a fly on the wall & could see the moments preceding this, you might laugh at the ensuing chaos. I like for the Lone Ranger to come home to peace, tranquility...an orderly home, & so long ago we set up an arrangement in which he calls to warn me (& now the girls) that he is coming home. Right after this phone call we swing into action! The Darling's rush to the playroom & begin a crazed cleanup while I do a quick tidy throughout the rest of the house. Most often the girls are shoving away the last toy, & I'm picking up the last stray item right as we hear the beloved noise described above. The desired result (most of the time) is achieved when our Prince Charming walks through the doors to hug & kiss each of his ladies. I delight in this tradition because my beloved doesn't take it for granted. He breathes in deep & a smile of contentment slides over his face...he's happy to be home. Now to be entirely fair & balanced, I must admit there are most certainly days (many of them) in which that utopian scene is not the one that plays out. Many are the times when the Lone Ranger forgets the warning call or for whatever reason the Darlings & I didn't get our home in order. We simply weren't prepared, & in walks our man with nothing to greet him but chaos. Now before you wonder how my husband responds to that particular scenario, let me assure you that he is not a machoistic male that demands a perfectly run household...vast would be the disappointment if such was the case...but he is deserving of that nonetheless. Generally when he finds us frazzled & unkempt, he laughs & asks me "Rough day?" True, beloved, very true. To remedy the havoc typical to having 3 children ages 3 & under, I've been working with the older darlings on picking up as they go. It's a concept that's not really taking hold just yet. They far prefer to have every toy in this household strewn about rather than to put one item back before getting another out. I keep telling them that if they would just adopt my method that we wouldn't have to endure the frazzled melee of cleanup each evening, but alas they know better than I & so chaos it is. (I promise I am going somewhere with this)
Sisters & Brothers, we are much the same as the darlings, who procrastinate their responsibilities until the last possible minute. Our Abba has promised His return. He has even provided warning signs giving us notice that this return is imminent, yet we twiddle our thumbs & pursue our own will & desires...neglecting the chores He has assigned to us. As children of the Most High God, the King of Kings & Lord of Lords, we are to be about His business. There is work to be done before the time when He returns....and He wants to return. He wants to be at home (not here on earth) with us. "Home is where the heart is" so the old saying goes...we, His children, have His heart...so being united means being Home.
"And if I go & prepare a place for you, I will come again & will take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also." (John 14:3)
There are days when I tell my girls, "Daddy is coming!", & they simply continue about their play, mindless of that precious moment approaching. Sisters & Brothers, Abba is coming...no, we do not know precisely when (Matthew 24:36), but we know that He will send His Son to fetch us...and we must be ready.
"Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." (1 Corinthians 15:58)
Just as my husband does not berate the Darlings & I when he comes home to find chaos reigning, neither will our Father yell, scream, kick, & holler at us...He will look sadly, disappointedly upon His children...for it was no secret that we should be expecting Him. Despite my husbands understanding acceptance of the situation he walks into, there are repercussions for our lack of preparation. Our evening is not as relaxed...time is wasted cleaning up rather than enjoying one another. The tone of the day is more strained. Abba knows that many will not be ready for His coming, & there are consequences for that.
"The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)
"For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?" (1 Peter 4:17)
So what do we need to do? My Darlings & I clean up the house. We ready it for The Lone Ranger's return.
"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? (1 Corinthians 6:19)
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone & the new is here!" (2 Corinthians 5:17)
We must first receive the grace the Abba offers, the forgiveness for our wretchedness found in the blood of Jesus Christ. We become a new creation by that grace & we must begin to strive towards righteousness...allowing Abba to come in & clean up that which was dirty.
"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, & thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings & all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful & quiet life, godly & dignified in every way. This is good & it is pleasing in the sigh of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved & to come to knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:1-4)
Once we have ourselves received grace & Abba has begun Spring Cleaning within us, we must help clean up others. The final words of Jesus, before he returned to the Father, spoke to this task.
"He said to them, 'Go into all the world & preach the gospel to all creation." (Mark 16:15)
This is the work which we need to be doing...not simply right before the warning that Abba is coming, but long before. Our preparation must be such that it is not a mad rush of chaotic righteous behavior...attempting to be in a short amount of time what we should have been working towards all along...it must be a lifestyle. We must be so consumed with the task of showing Christ's love to others that it pervades our every word & action...being the essence of who we are.
"God's readiness to give & forgive is now public. Salvation's available for everyone! We're being shown how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, & how to take on a God-filled, God-honoring life. This new life is starting right now, & is whetting our appetites for the glorious day when our great God & Savior , Jesus Christ, appears. He offered himself for us as a sacrifice to free us from a dark, rebellious life into this good, pure life, making us a people he can be proud of, energetic in goodness." (Titus 2:11-14)
Even as I write this, my darlings are cleaning up their playroom, & I am inspired once again to not be idle, but to be about Abba's work. Let's be vigilant for His coming, ready to hear the sounds of His return...just as my darlings & I hear that diesel engine & the squeal of tires on gravel...ready to meet Him at the door!
"In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead shall be raised imperishable, & we shall be changed." (1 Corinthians 15:52)
Be Blessed this Day!
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