Hey Mary, Are You Ready?

Well, ARE YOU? "Ready for what?" you may ask - a new day, a new job, a new sorrow, a new joy - anything. I remember those words said to me by my earthly father, at midnight one morning when I was around eight to ten years old when he pulled me out of bed and lead me to the kitchen to get my shoes on as we headed out the door. We were heading to gather up all the chickens on the farm. See, the day before my baby sister was attacked by a mother hen doing her job, guarding her chicks, and my baby sister walked by the wrong forsythia bush. Well, that night my "Mother Hen" told my dad they all had to go! I had to climb all of our trees on a rickety ladder and grab the chickens by their legs and hand them down to my father who was waiting with a wooden bushel to stuff them in. Well it turns out I WAS NOT READY! I have mental scars to prove it!
This week at Friendship, we are on week two of our Christmas Advent series that will allow us to look at the lives of those who received the news of Christ's first coming, as well as their preparedness and their response to this good news. Some were ready; many were not. As we dig into their stories, beginning with Elizabeth and Zechariah this last week, we are encouraged by the fact that it is okay sometimes to admit we are not ready but ALWAYS TRUST THE LORD! Let us think about our own readiness for Christ's return, which will happen according to the time the Father has appointed.
So the question is, ARE YOU READY FOR WEEK 2? This weekend we will be exploring the Virgin Mother of Jesus to see if she was ready to shepherd in the King of the World...