Preparing II

The previous exercise wasn't completely satisfactory so now I will say what I wanted ot say without it being attached to any particular form or type of TR.

Preparing is a verb that speaks of getting ready for something or going somewhere. "I'm preparing a lesson for class," "I'm preparing to go to visit Aunt Mabel next week," and "I'm preparing dinner for the whole family this year" give a range of responses that indicate at least part of the range of situations where preparing is an important part.

This Sunday is the feast of Christ the King, traditionally the last Sunday in the season of Pentecost and the last Sunday in the church year, sort of New Year's Eve before December 31st. This year it also marks the beginning of the week of Thanksgiving preparation and celebration. Families are travelling, others are stocking up on essentials like yams, ingredients for stuffing, cranberry sauce and, of course, the main course which in many households is turkey. There are those preparing pies of various flavors, baking breads and rolls. Thursday morning the fever reaches its pitch and by Thursday afternoon it's all over but the cleanup and the doling out of leftovers.

But there's no real let-up. We have to be busy preparing for Christmas that comes in about four more weeks. There are gifts to buy, some to ship, some to be carried, some to stay at home under the tree. There are cookies to bake, parties to plan, decorating to do, cards to send, travel plans to confirm or housecleaning to be done in preparation for arriving company. We prepare right up to Christmas Eve and even Christmas Day is no real respite until late in the day when the presents are all open, dinner is over and the detritus of all the day's activity are cleared away.

Two deep breaths and its time to prepare for New Year's even though the stores have had Valentine's Day cards and candy on the shelves since just past midnight on Christmas Day. Come to think of it, Christmas stuff appeared on the shelves before Labor Day this year, ensuring we have plenty of time to prepare for the extended HallowThankMas season.

In the middle of this, though, is a quiet little season that is almost forgotten by most. Advent is a church season totally dedicated to preparing --- not decorating with lights and baubles, not preparing the larder for orgies of cooking and baking, not preparing lists of gifts to buy or cards to send. The church season reminds us to look past the worldy preparing we are urged, encouraged and cajoled to do and to look within ourselves. We are enjoined to prepare ourselves spiritually for the coming of the Christ Child. It's hard to remember Advent sometimes, especially when images of Santa Claus abound and Christmas carols that we don't sing until Christmas Eve resound through the stores and malls only to be silenced again at midnight on Christmas Eve.

Oddly enough, Advent ends at midnight on Christmas Eve as well. We have prepared outwardly and hopefully inwardly. We have decorated but we have also contemplated. We have sent cards and gifts but we have also read and prayed.  We have baked and stirred but we have also thought a bit more about saying "thank you" to someone who holds the door for us or putting a bill in a red kettle instead of just loose change. We notice people are a bit more thoughtful, a bit more cheerful, a bit more generous.

It's the result of preparing --- the internal preparing that opens one up to possibilities which might have escaped us had we not gone through a bit of preparatory work.

During the holidays we spend a great deal of time and energy into preparing and then realize we've reached the culmination and suddenly there's a big void. Ask my friend who just got married in October. She'd spent a year planning, organizing, coordinating and preparing, sometimes driving herself (and those who loved her) absolutely crazy until the day arrived and all the preparation ended. the next morning she woke up and realized there was only a different kind of preparation to do -- preparation for the rest of her life as Mrs M, not Miss M who was going to be married October 10th. 

Advent is preparing but the preparing can go on past December 24th at 11:59 pm. There are 12 days to celebrate Christmas ahead when the world has already moved on to Valentine's Day. There are the days of Epiphany that encourage a different kind of inner preparation, that of being aware of God among us and then we find the season of Lent as another preparation, preparing the heart for the dismay and pain of Good Friday and the joy and celebration of Easter. It's a continuous project, if we do it right.

In the midst of the holiday preparing, remember to stop and prepare the inside.  It will pay off in the end, and you won't have to wait for the after-holiday sales.