Tonight I got a little adventurous and finally decided to paint my jewelry case that has been sitting on my dresser unpainted for months (not holding any jewelry). (My sister's awesome father-in-law made it for me.) I bought red spray paint and headed to my apartment. Which, is on the 3rd floor. I considered taking it to the grass and decided that I could make it work on the patio.
I cut trash bags so it could act as a paint trap and ignored that it was not in abundance once the case was on it. And off to spray paint I went. Didn't even think to put on gloves.
15 minutes later, I'm at the sink scrubbing my hands with bleach and wondering how to remove mists of red spray paint from the patio. (The patio is really not that bad. Definitely not as bad as my hands.)
Why did I not take the extra time to put on a pair of gloves? Why didn't I put down just one more trash bag? It would have saved me tons of time from scrubbing up my mess.
Somehow the Lord spoke to me in that moment. So many times I go through life just trying to get things done- that I don't take the adequate time to prepare what is needed. I then end up wasting more time. I'm learning the principle of first things first. What needs to be prepared first before I can get started? How do I need to prepare myself for the meeting? the relationship? the task?
God is a God of preparation. He has prepared a place for us. He has prepared us for the very thing we are going through that we see no end to. And He is preparing us for what is ahead. He has equipped you. Are we walking in it? And are we doing our part?
Preparation allows you to have freedom. And it allows you to breathe. Instead of standing at the kitchen sink scrubbing your hands.
