Conference Minister's Corner - 12/09/2025

“Prepare Ye the Way.”

Advent is about getting ourselves prepared. Which, in my experience, is quite ironic as I don’t think anything truly prepares you for new birth.

Perhaps others have felt prepared for parenting. I did not. I mean, we had a several year long adoption process, so we had done adoption classes, read several parenting books, and had a nursery all set up. But twenty-two and half years ago in a municipal building in Chongqing, China, when they placed a 10-month-old baby girl in my arms, none of that mattered. I felt completely unequipped. Thank goodness we had a couple of experienced parents in our travel group. I would have gone mad if I didn’t have those whom I could pester with all my “is this normal” questions.

The challenge of preparedness became ever clear to me on our way home from China. Our travels would take us from China to Hong Kong to Toyoko to New York. There was a lot to be prepared for. The great lesson occurred not long after we left Hong Kong. We had reached our cruising altitude. Paige took Emily to the bathroom for a diaper change. Almost immediately, the plane hit turbulence, and they sent everyone back to their seats. Paige came scurrying down the aisle still zipping up Emily’s onesie in route. Emily was placed on my lap while Paige organized everything she had taken with her. Now, apparently in the rush to get out of the bathroom, Emily’s diaper was put on a bit crooked. About five minutes later, she peed…all out the side of the diaper…all over her onesie…and all over my lap. Here is the good news – we were prepared parents. We had packed several outfits for Emily for just such unanticipated situations. It wasn’t too long before Emily was cleaned up and changed. And here is the lesson – we weren’t totally prepared. I was still a good fourteen hours away from my next set of clean, dry pants.

Advent is about getting ourselves prepared. But it is not just about preparing for the expected. It is about preparing ourselves for the birth of new worldly challenges and new God-given graces. It is about preparing ourselves for the unexpected. More than that, it is about preparing ourselves for that which we can’t yet imagine or expect.

Blessings on your Advent preparations!

Gordon