Preparing for the Future
Illustration
Stories
John stared out the window at the softly falling snow. He thought about his fall at University and his life in general. He picked the Bible from the table and began to read. He read for a while before Sarah sat down beside him on the other living room chair.
“You look deep in thought,” she said. “What’s on your mind, little brother?”
John sat the Bible on his lap. “Was it weird for you to come home for Christmas after moving away?”
Sarah looked around the room, paused to consider the Christmas tree with ornaments from their youth and the opened presents underneath, and then faced her sibling. “I guess I’d have to say yes and no.”
“In what way?”
“In some ways it felt that I had never left because everything was familiar and I was, well, coming home.” Sarah paused for a moment. “Yet in other ways it felt like nothing was the same. Mom and Dad looked older and I realized my first Christmas when I was in basic training that I wasn’t the same person I was when I left home.”
John sighed. “Maybe I should have joined the Air Force like you.”
“That was my dream, little brother, not yours. Yours was to go to University and become a doctor.” Sarah tilted her head. “Having doubts?”
“Not whether bring a doctor is a good thing.” John paused. “Just doubts about whether I can do it.”
Sarah frowned. “Are you having problems with your classes?”
“No.” John shook his head. “Some of them are hard but I’m doing fine.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“I don’t know if I’m up to it.” John looked at her. “I was in one of my classes and it struck me that if I was going to be a surgeon then I would literally be holding people’s lives in my hands.”
“And?”
“I don’t feel ready for that responsibility. There is so much I don’t know. I got sort of overwhelmed and that feeling has never left me.”
Sarah reached over for the Bible on his lap. “Were you looking at the readings for Sunday?”
“Mr. Murray always said ‘If you read the Scriptures before the service they are in your heart and your head before you hear them proclaimed.’ So when I’m getting ready for church I always make sure I read the lessons.”
“I remember him saying the same thing when I was in his Sunday School class.” Sarah chuckled. “Although they seem more profound if you say them with a Scottish accent.”
John smiled. “Very true.”
She scanned the open page in Luke’s gospel and handed the Bible back to her brother. “Have you read the lessons for today yet?”
“I was going through them a second time when you came in.”
“What does the last line say?”
“It says-”
“I know you can read tell me in your own words.” Sarah smiled. “Mr. Murray said that to me on more than one occasion.”
“Me too.” John took a moment to collect his thoughts. “The passage is about Mary and Joseph taking the baby Jesus to be blessed and Simeon talking about the great things that Jesus would do in his life.”
“And how does the passage end?”
John looked at the Bible again. “It talks about how Jesus grew up and God’s favor was with him.”
“I found that when I went into the armed forces that I needed to grow up,” Sarah said. “I know, I know, you just assumed because I’d always loved planes and always wanted to fly that I’d have no problems in the air force but I did. I had to learn discipline, working in a team, and to realize that I had a lot to learn.”
John stared at his sister for a moment. “I never knew.”
“You’re my little brother, it wasn’t something I was going to share with you.” Sarah paused. “I don’t think Mom ever realized either.”
John smiled. “Dad knew though, didn’t he?”
“He did.” Sarah nodded. “He also said to me what I’m going to say to you. ‘Growing up takes time but it is worth it.’”
“That sounds like Dad.” John looked at the open Bible again. “I guess if Jesus needed time to grow into the person God called him to be it makes sense for us as disciples to also need to take time to grow and find the path God has opened for us.”
“Absolutely.” Sarah ruffled his hair. “See, you’re quick on the uptake when you what to be.”
John grinned. “Can you do something for me, sis?”
“Anything.”
“Can you pray with me before Mom and Dad come back and we go to church?”
Sarah took his hands in hers. “Absolutely.”
Together the siblings bowed their heads and prayed together for grace, for patience, and most importantly to grow into the people that God knew they could become.
“You look deep in thought,” she said. “What’s on your mind, little brother?”
John sat the Bible on his lap. “Was it weird for you to come home for Christmas after moving away?”
Sarah looked around the room, paused to consider the Christmas tree with ornaments from their youth and the opened presents underneath, and then faced her sibling. “I guess I’d have to say yes and no.”
“In what way?”
“In some ways it felt that I had never left because everything was familiar and I was, well, coming home.” Sarah paused for a moment. “Yet in other ways it felt like nothing was the same. Mom and Dad looked older and I realized my first Christmas when I was in basic training that I wasn’t the same person I was when I left home.”
John sighed. “Maybe I should have joined the Air Force like you.”
“That was my dream, little brother, not yours. Yours was to go to University and become a doctor.” Sarah tilted her head. “Having doubts?”
“Not whether bring a doctor is a good thing.” John paused. “Just doubts about whether I can do it.”
Sarah frowned. “Are you having problems with your classes?”
“No.” John shook his head. “Some of them are hard but I’m doing fine.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“I don’t know if I’m up to it.” John looked at her. “I was in one of my classes and it struck me that if I was going to be a surgeon then I would literally be holding people’s lives in my hands.”
“And?”
“I don’t feel ready for that responsibility. There is so much I don’t know. I got sort of overwhelmed and that feeling has never left me.”
Sarah reached over for the Bible on his lap. “Were you looking at the readings for Sunday?”
“Mr. Murray always said ‘If you read the Scriptures before the service they are in your heart and your head before you hear them proclaimed.’ So when I’m getting ready for church I always make sure I read the lessons.”
“I remember him saying the same thing when I was in his Sunday School class.” Sarah chuckled. “Although they seem more profound if you say them with a Scottish accent.”
John smiled. “Very true.”
She scanned the open page in Luke’s gospel and handed the Bible back to her brother. “Have you read the lessons for today yet?”
“I was going through them a second time when you came in.”
“What does the last line say?”
“It says-”
“I know you can read tell me in your own words.” Sarah smiled. “Mr. Murray said that to me on more than one occasion.”
“Me too.” John took a moment to collect his thoughts. “The passage is about Mary and Joseph taking the baby Jesus to be blessed and Simeon talking about the great things that Jesus would do in his life.”
“And how does the passage end?”
John looked at the Bible again. “It talks about how Jesus grew up and God’s favor was with him.”
“I found that when I went into the armed forces that I needed to grow up,” Sarah said. “I know, I know, you just assumed because I’d always loved planes and always wanted to fly that I’d have no problems in the air force but I did. I had to learn discipline, working in a team, and to realize that I had a lot to learn.”
John stared at his sister for a moment. “I never knew.”
“You’re my little brother, it wasn’t something I was going to share with you.” Sarah paused. “I don’t think Mom ever realized either.”
John smiled. “Dad knew though, didn’t he?”
“He did.” Sarah nodded. “He also said to me what I’m going to say to you. ‘Growing up takes time but it is worth it.’”
“That sounds like Dad.” John looked at the open Bible again. “I guess if Jesus needed time to grow into the person God called him to be it makes sense for us as disciples to also need to take time to grow and find the path God has opened for us.”
“Absolutely.” Sarah ruffled his hair. “See, you’re quick on the uptake when you what to be.”
John grinned. “Can you do something for me, sis?”
“Anything.”
“Can you pray with me before Mom and Dad come back and we go to church?”
Sarah took his hands in hers. “Absolutely.”
Together the siblings bowed their heads and prayed together for grace, for patience, and most importantly to grow into the people that God knew they could become.
