Preparation Matters

#Voices of CCLB (Emma Roy)

She said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, they left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.” (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flaxshe had laid out on the roof.) - Joshua 2:4-6

"We do not rise to the level of our expectations. We fall to the level of our training." -Archilochus, Greek Poet, 650 BC

"If you stay ready, You ain't got to get ready" -Suga Free, West Coast Rap Artist, 1997

One striking thing about the story of Rahab is how, in a stressful and potentially combustible situation, Rahab responded quickly with care, faith, courage and love. Under pressure, many of us would aspire to do the same! But we also know from our own experience that stress can trigger old habits and knee-jerk reactions and, truly before we know it, we hear ourselves become defensive, anxious or ungenerous.

For Rahab to act from love and care in such a high-stakes situation suggests that she practiced being caring and generous in many small ways before the fateful day that Joshua's spies arrived at her door. Building these habits of heart when the stakes were low allowed her to respond in love when the stakes suddenly became quite high.

In this Advent season, where are there low-stakes situations where you can practice love and generosity with those closest to you, with your wider communities, and—perhaps the most challenging—with yourself?

Could you begin to see some of life's daily frustrations as an opportunity to practice responding with care, faith, courage and love, as Rahab learned to do?