Just a Little Too Late

I slept in today. Inadvertently. Badly.

It hasn’t happened to me since the nineties. I set my alarm for 5:45am, but it didn’t go off. Don’t ask. I don’t know what happened. I opened my eyes, the clock clearly said 7:24am. That’s not good when my shift starts at 8:00am and I live 45 minutes away from the hospital.

I’ve been told I talk fast, and I do. But that was nothing compared to how fast I showered, dried my hair, and made it out the door this morning. It didn’t help that we got snow last night and people were driving like maniacs, myself excluded.

I rolled into work at 8:30am sharp. I still can’t comprehend the tsunami that took over my body this morning.

Nobody likes to be too late for anything. You show up to work and realize you’ve missed the holiday party. You open the newspaper and learn that your favorite artist just had a concert in your town – the night before, while you watched a dumb show on TV. You get to the coffee shop, and the guy you have a crush on just walked out.

Jesus tells many parables about folks who showed up a little too late for heaven. My favorite is the story of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25:1-10. Five of the virgins were wise and had their lamps ready to meet the bridegroom. Five of the virgins were foolish and didn’t bother to be ready on time. When the bridegroom finally showed up, the foolish virgins started running around scrambling for oil – to no avail. They missed the marriage feast while the wise virgins enjoyed meeting the bridegroom.

Jesus was born in a manger over 2000 years ago. Everyone knows that. Most people in the United States are celebrating this birth this week. And it’s awesome. But it’s only half the story.

Jesus is coming back someday. I don’t know when, but I want to be ready.

I know what it feels to be just a little too late, and I don’t like it.

Are you ready for that meeting?

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