For the first time, since I learned to drive at 16, I am without a car. Nothing bad has happened, it’s just that my lease on my current car ended and the one I am purchasing won’t be in until the end of the week. This has  given me time to reflect on waiting and preparation, and aptly so since the Church’s theme of the final weeks of the liturgical year is preparing for the end. 

Since it’s just me, I have no other choice but to drive anywhere I need, or want, to go. (Until now, of course.) Now I have to rely on the goodness of others to get me where I need to be. I’m very grateful that I am a full-time remote employee, working from home, so I don’t have to worry about a daily commute. However, any church functions that I participate in, as well as Sunday Mass, I’ve asked others to be my “wheels.” My friends are wonderfully supportive; and we’ve used the opportunity to attend craft fairs and go out to dinner, since they needed to drive me around.  This has really been a blessing which I truly appreciate. 

Even with these wonderful encounters, I don’t want to be rude to my friends by making them wait for me if I’m not ready at our rendezvous time. My goal has been to be ready 5 or 10 minutes early, just in case they arrive earlier. In reality, I have been ready much earlier than that, and thus I’ve had to wait. I didn’t want to start anything that I couldn’t quickly put away. I didn’t want to be in another area of the house, in case I didn’t hear them when they arrived. I was concerned about picking up any one of my hobbies as I can get so lost in them that I might lose track of time. The sensible thing was to sit and wait, looking out the window. I was ready. I was prepared. And then my mind began to ponder.

When one is prepared and waiting, especially for something that is imminent, one is on hyper alert, looking at every flash of movement and ready to spring into action. Is this what God expects of us in terms of readiness when our final moment on earth happens? Does our human nature allow us to be that hyper vigilant for extended periods of time? If we’re going to live another 10, 20, 50 or more years, how can we be prepared for our final hour? Unlike waiting for a ride, our final moment will not wait until we are prepared, we won’t miss it, nor inconvenience someone if we’re not ready. Perhaps to be ready for the end is not so much about being hyper vigilant, but rather to be vigilant in our day-to-day, recognizing the opportunities God gives us to be His hands, His feet, His ears, and His smile to those we meet. When we seek to do His will, we’re not waiting for Him to come to us, we’re actively seeking Him out, spiritually walking towards Him. 

Perhaps that’s what it means to be prepared for the end: to walk the journey towards God, looking for Him in every person we encounter and letting His love flow through us to others. If we always see life as a path that leads to God, then there is no sitting and no waiting for the end, there’s just the action of living and witnessing to all we meet along the way.