Not Ready

O-M-G...school is about to start back up today. Spring Break is over. 8 weeks and then...FREEDOM. I just want to be through with school right now. I'm not really feeling this at all.

Today is the big day and....I'm not ready. There's so much I didn't do, so much to be done...
and here come the stress headaches. What will the next 2 months be like? Do I have what it takes to make it to graduation...what trouble lies ahead on this road I travel?!

#deepBreath

Lord,

In your mercy, hear our prayer(s).

Amen.

Have you ever known you should do something or perhaps been asked to embark on a journey only to question the legitimacy of your level of preparation? Me too...almost everyday. Well, maybe a day short of everyday, but you get the picture.

There are so many things in life we might find ourselves "not ready" for. In some cases they're risks and we just have to "launch out into the deep". In other cases it's determining whether or not we'll take the extra step or precaution necessary to overcome some bad habit or addiction. Regardless of what the situation or scenario is we may think to ourselves, "I can't do" that, I'm "not ready".

Imagine watching the Olympics or a track meet only to experience this scenario...

Announcer: On your mark. Get set. [Interrupted]

You: WAIT! WAIT ...wait, wait, wait...I'm not ready... Ok. Let's go.

Announcer: On your mark. Get set. [Interrupted]

You: Wait, wait...wait...still not ready. Can I have a few moments?

Specifically when it comes to Christianity (or any life change) people will be quick to say, "I'm not ready". There's an excuse that never gets old, "I gotta be right".

I'm going to play the tough guy for a second. What makes you think you could ever do enough to be right or good? #ponderThat (i.e. If it is about being good/right concerning Christianity)


A friend of mine, mentioned that she is a "heathen". Somehow we got on the topic of attending church in a conversation. When I asked for clarification later on she explained to me simply, "I say I'm a heathen because I don't go to church. My mom has been trying to get me to go. I believe in the Lord...on the weekends I sip my wine. I don't want the church to fall on my head".


She's got a legitimate point there. If she was to walk into a church and it fell on her head, that wouldn't be so good...for her or anyone else there at the time.

There's this notion (which is partially true) that as soon as she steps into the building she's going to be judged.

Back in the Fall of 2011 (prior to that even) I decided to be more intentional in my relationship building. Specifically, I wanted to be able to allow Christ to be a part of the conversations that would be had. This is obviously a form of evangelism, although I'm not hell bent on "converting" these individuals for the simple fact that as I have come to understand from my experiences last summer, "I don't convert people; Jesus does that."

This individual was one of the first persons I had thought of being intentional with in my dealings and interactions. I had to make sure that she didn't turn out to be a "guinea pig" of sorts; keeping in mind that I'm working on Intentional Relationship Building, and not for the Institutional Review Board (the people who give permission to experiment with human beings). I came to realize that sometimes the best thing you can do is to be there for a person and talk to them in the same ways you would talk to others. When the opportunity presents itself, and it will, you're able to suggest how you'd handle the problem/situation/scenario differently, or more importantly what Jesus has to say about it.

As I transition to the second and last example, I wanted to note that during the summer I read a book titled, "I Once Was Lost: What Postmodern Skeptics Taught Us About Their Path to Jesus" #amazonLink

In this book, a different approach to conversion is considered, specifically the "thresholds" that people cross in today's modern times when it comes to conversion to Christianity (and possibly any faith or belief system for that matter).

The thresholds are: #paraphrased

1. I trust you.
2. Now I'm curious.
3. Hmm...I can open up a little (more).
4. No more wandering, I'd like to seek the answers.
5. I believe.

I've noticed some of these exact thresholds in people I have interacted with in the past several years of my life. Here's the last example which matches up with some of these thresholds; however, it isn't a linear process. (i.e. One does not simply transition from Threshold 1 to 2 to 3. In almost all cases there's some back/forth.)


[Excerpt from September 5, 2010]

Somehow in my “pastoral” type of way I got her to come around to talking about the service and what she got out of it, etc… Many of the things that were talked about today we discussed on the night after my birthday dinner celebration. We talked for a couple hours at least and the last thing she asked me was, “What if I’m not ready to move forward?” I looked out the window and saw the beautiful sun shining and the immaculate architecture of the house across the street. I gave examples. I talked about my life and I quoted scripture. I know she was tearing up on the inside. The spirit nudged me to pray. I asked if she wanted to pray, but she wasn’t comfortable praying herself with me there.

Matthew 6:34 (ESV)

34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. 

Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Sometimes we feel we're not ready because we don't know what to expect; unsure about...tomorrow.  If you plan on doing it anyways, why put off for tomorrow what you can do today?

Sumthn2Ponder(s2p):

• Think on some things that you feel you're "not ready" for.
• Find a way to become ready.
• If necessary allow someone to help you prepare.    

In Case You Need It:

Tomorrow (The Winans)

Take Me As I Am (Lecrae) [Added: August 23 2012]