Are You Prepared?

By Charlotte Riegel –

I was enjoying a relaxed and inspirational morning with books and notebooks strewn around my ‘in bed’ desk. The phone rang jolting me into the here and now. I wondered if it might be my daughter announcing the soon arrival of our next grandchild and was surprised to hear the sound of a man’s voice. It was a neighbor. “Look out your front window,” he said. “Three moose are right across the road from your house.” I thanked him for the heads up and rushed to the window but saw nothing.

Still in my night attire, I quickly pulled on a very long winter coat and went to the street so I could look past the trees in our front yard. The street was empty, except for another neighbor’s dog, barking towards the pond below a small bluff. I correctly guessed they must be in the lower area I could not see unless I crossed the road, which I chose not to do. The dog continued to bark intently and soon I saw the moose moving across the frozen pond and up a small embankment on the far side, then carry on across an abandoned rail line and on towards the brush at the base of a large hill bordering our Hamlet.

What a glorious sight. I wished I had my camera. I wished I had our binoculars. If I had been up and dressed when the phone call came, I quite likely would have been able to see the moose very close up and would not have been quite so tentative about crossing the road for a better look.

We are new to this rural community of nearly 100 people, having left a city of a million people and are now enjoying the wonders of country living. Coyotes, rabbits, owls, and an occasional deer were fairly common in our city neighborhood because of our proximity to wildlife preservation areas, but moose…Wow!

I have now placed binoculars by the front door and spent time learning how to use the camera on a newly acquired cell phone. I plan to be better prepared for more surprise sightings of wildlife.

This incident reminds me of the parable of the ten virgins in which the Kingdom of God is compared to a wedding where some missed the party altogether because they were not alert and prepared.

QUOTE: “One should plan for spiritual enlightenment. At least bring a flashlight.” Lia Hills, The Beginner’s Guide to Living.

“And Jesus concluded, “Watch out, then, because you do not know the day or the hour” (Matthew 25:13 NIV).