Elul :: Where Am I?

It is mid-August. We are hot. (Because, that's what happens here in the north state in August.) But lately, there is that slight nip in the morning air that says, "Autumn is coming!" The nut harvest has commenced... the dust is also in the air (in addition to the smoke and ash), but we know there is relief in sight.

According to my Elul devotional, there is a primordial stirring of our souls that happens at the change of the seasons. That makes sense to me: "What stirs in our souls this time of year is a gnawing sense that before the seasons change we very much need to remember something which we have forgotten, and to prepare for something which we sense deep in our souls..."

As I take the time (for the first time) during this season of preparation for the coming feasts, I am becoming aware that this is a time of preparation for an encounter. This is a concept that I have never before entertained in preparing for the traditional "Christian" holidays. Why? Because those holidays were part of the culture I grew up in and I figured I already knew what they were all about and didn't bother to take the time to investigate any deeper meaning for me there? I cannot say.

What I am aware of this time is that I need to learn how to prepare my attitudes, my thoughts, my focus. This means something more than flying by the seat of my pants for whatever comes my way... This is a time to be intentional.

That is what we need to prepare for. We are about to have an encounter with the Creator of Heaven and Earth. We are about to have to give account to Him for what we have done with His precious breath of life.

A sobering thought. A thought that takes some time to ponder - to reflect. And I don't like everything that I see. Get this: I am not talking about an extended guilt trip for things that cannot be undone. We all have those things in our lives that generate thoughts of remorse and time wasted wondering how our lives would have been different... if only I hadn't... That's not where I'm going with this. Rather, where am I now? And where do I need to be?

Thank you, Christine Miller