Ordinary Time

Pause

We can never know everything that our days will hold –

But we can know that God will be with us.

Take a breath.

Let God prepare you for the unknown.

Listen

“But the wise bridesmaids replied, ‘No, because if we share with you, there won’t be enough for our lamps and yours. We have a better idea. You go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ But while they were gone to buy oil, the groom came. Those who were ready went with him into the wedding. Then the door was shut.”

Matthew 25:9-10

Think

Maybe, like me, you find this passage a bit harsh. For one, why couldn’t those wise bridesmaids just have shared? In the midst of this harshness, I have to actively look for what might be good.

The thing I do appreciate here is the acknowledgment of life’s immediacy. Moments come, then pass us by so quickly. Sometimes it will be as stark as this: we’re either present, or we’re not. We’re either present to someone in celebration, or we’re not. We’re either present to someone in pain, or we’re not.

Of course, we can’t expect ourselves to be present to everyone all the time. That is something only God can do! We must always be conscious of our limits. But when we are privileged to be a part of someone else’s important experience, we should strive to be thoughtful about ensuring that we are able to be there for them in the moment to the best of our abilities.

Megan McDermott

Pray

Help ready me, God, to go with you wherever you might take me and to go with those who need my helping hand or listening ear. I thank you for the beauty of powerful moments in time, and I grieve for those moments that have passed me by because I wasn’t prepared. Amen.

Go

Are you ready to love? Serve? Give? To seek joy in tough moments?

Go, and find out.