Matthew 25:11
"Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’"
What do you do if your perseverance culminates in defeat? Is a failed ending of a longed for passion and longstanding pursuit truly the end of a matter? How do you move forward after failure?
Though we are only in the second month of 2021, I feel as though several months have gone by. February has been a strange mix of loss and acceleration. The finitude of closure has become a familiar sensation during this time. While I grieve what (and certainly whom) has passed this month, I cannot deny that I recognize within transition the glimmerings of new possibilities. As the old fades out, the new slowly presents itself.
Even as I contemplate this, I also wonder what life would be like if I were on the other side of the door of acceptance and entry. If I had missed certain moments of preparation like the unwise bridesmaids, what would be my next move? The Matthew 25 passage doesn’t leave us with much hope. Instead, it fills us with a sense of gravity about our responsibility towards preparation and alertness. We do not have the luxury of remaining in folly.
It seems that 2020 reinvigorated the awareness that wisdom is of the utmost necessity during a time such as this. Yes, there will come a time when the pandemic will end and we will move forward in life. However, will that life be the culmination of foresight, prayer, and preparation, or of foolishness, insecurity, and fear? Are we taking the necessary steps today to ensure that we are free to move forward when opportunity finally presents itself?
Art: Dea Jenkins | Inception | watercolor | 2020
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