Keep Alert—You Don't Know the Hour

Preparing to leave the house with two toddlers is like preparing for a 40-day journey in the wilderness. It requires math to calculate the number of diapers for the number of hours gone and how many snacks, which snacks, and in what order to distribute. You can’t forget spare clothes, the stroller, the baby carrier, sunscreen, a toy or two. The list goes on so long that it’s a miracle I remember my own shoes. I’ve left the house in my slippers more than once.

Last summer, we were feeling brave and attended the Kids Ministry VBC event at the zoo. If you were there, you might remember, it was one of the hottest afternoons of the summer. Still, we packed all the bags and made a plan: walk to one of the farthest points of the zoo first, then make our way back toward the exit. So off we went into the Australian outback, walking with purpose. We made it deep into Australia when I turned to my husband and said, “This is a great place to pause and give Marlee a bottle.” I opened the diaper bag, found the bottle and formula, prepped it, and then my hand started searching for the bottle top and nipple. Nothing.

I turned to Blake and said, “Hey… do you know where the bottle parts are?” Now… I won’t point fingers, but if you see Blake this week you might ask who was in charge of packing the diaper bag that day.

My stomach dropped. We were at the farthest point from the entrance, on a 90-degree day, with a hungry infant and no way to give her the milk we brought. And now I had to tell a two-year-old we were leaving the zoo immediately. I went into full survival mode racing toward the exit, running through every option. Is there a store nearby? No. How long will it take us to get home? Too long.

And then, as I reached the exit doors, I saw a Resurrection staff member, wearing her name tag, holding an infant… feeding them a bottle. Emma.

I had never met her before, she had just joined the kids’ team, but when I asked if she happened to have an extra bottle, she did. And she gave it to me. It sounds small, but it still brings tears to my eyes. Emma wasn’t just prepared; she was overprepared.

Today’s Scripture story about the bridesmaids is a little unsettling to me. Because if I’m honest, I see myself in the ones who weren’t prepared. The ones who thought they had what they needed… until they didn’t. Because once you make a mistake like that, you don’t make the same one twice.

And sometimes, the way we learn to be prepared is because someone else was prepared for us. Emma showed me what it looks like to be ready in a way that blesses someone else. Jesus tells us to keep alert because we don’t know the hour. But maybe part of that alertness isn’t just about being ready for ourselves; it’s about being ready for each other. To be the person who, in someone else’s moment of panic, reflects the calm, generous presence of Christ.

Grace often meets us in the form of someone who was ready when we weren’t. And over time, we become that person for someone else.