Being "ready"

All our lives, in different situations, we are asked if we are ready.

As a child ~ "Are you ready to start school"
First date ~ "Are you ready for your first date"
At high school ~ "Are you ready to graduate"
At college ~ "Are you ready for your first day in college"
Getting married ~ "Are you ready to walk down the aisle"
Having a baby ~ "Are you ready to be a parent"

And especially this time of the year...

Christmastime ~ "Are you ready for Christmas"

But did you ever stop to think about Mary.  How ready was she?  She was, after all, a virgin, untouched by man.  And carrying the Son of God. Conceived by the Holy Spirit.  How ready was she do you think?  Do you think she knew, her son would change the world?  Would save people from their sins?  Would die such a horrible death?  And rise from the grave?

How ready was she?

And importantly, how ready are we?

To witness for Him.  To pray to Him.  To confess that He died on the cross so we may live, and have life more abundantly through Him.  How ready are we to live for Him?  To let Him live through our lives, to be a light to this lost and dying world. 

I sometimes imagine, if His birth actually occurred in late December as we celebrate, well, you know how dark winter nights are.  When He was born, how much brighter that night must have been. 

Are you ready for Him today?