Elizabeth, my oldest, is a senior in college this year. Even more astonishing, she has her first real job interview tomorrow. I’m not sure I’m ready for this.
Four years ago, shortly after Elizabeth was accepted to the school of her choice, she came to me and said, worriedly, “Mom? What if I’m not ready for college?”
I smiled at her and replied, “Honey, hardly anyone’s ever completely ready. The question is whether the ways in which you’re not ready will derail you or make you grow.” She nodded slowly, and we had a good talk about her strengths and weaknesses, and how college could help her develop the former and overcome the latter.
God didn’t wait until Abraham was ready before he called him out of Ur. He didn’t wait for Moses to develop good public speaking skills before he put him to work. Like it or not, God’s probably not going to wait until I feel like I’m ready to handle whatever’s heading my way, either. I suspect this is because God knows what I don’t want to admit: I grow more when I’m put in situations that are not of my own choosing. What’s more, I tend to turn to God more readily when I’m out of my comfort zone. When I look at it that way, not feeling ready becomes almost attractive. All I really need to be ready for is to learn to love Christ more.
