Preparation

Be Prepared. That is the motto of the Boy Scouts of America. That is something we have all been taught from an early age. When you are doing something, make sure you are ready. When you take a test - study. When you are to be in a play - learn your lines. When you are going on a trip by automobile - make sure you have changed the oil inflated the tires have enough gasoline, etc. When you leave home - make sure you have on clean underwear. It goes on and on.

Being prepared is something we all know is crucial to everything going smoothly. But, it is also a trap. If you waited until you were fully prepared for every potentiality before you did anything. You would do nothing. The possibilities are endless, and so the preparation becomes endless. If you are going to do what really matters, it means you must sometimes step out and do things for which you are not really prepared.

Every major or minor step I have taken in my life has been taken withoug being fully prepared for all the possible consequences. Every step forward. And every step backward. The steps forward have been because of I was prepared for what came next or was able to scramble and make it work. The steps backward - because I had not anticipated the results and was not able to recover. However, if you only take steps for which you are fully prepared, you will spend all of your life in preparation and never take a step at all. That's why when God calls you and you follow, it is called "a step of FAITH."