Ready, Eddie?
“Ready, Eddie?” is a common question around our house. The meaning is simple, “Are you ready?” I’m not certain how it came into our vocabulary; but, as with so many of our family phrases, we probably picked it up from an old movie.
We quote several lines from Jimmy Stewart’s “You Can’t Take It with You.” One evening when Grandpa and his family are sitting around being themselves, Essie’s Russian ballet teacher prompts Essie’s husband Ed to start playing the glockenspiel with the question, “Ready, Eddie?” That’s probably where we got it.
Jesus told parables about being ready for the most important appointment we will ever have. One of those parables concerned ten virgins — five of whom stood, as the hymn says, “with their lamps all trimmed and bright.” Those virgins were ready. As you know, the other five were not. Then when the bridegroom arrived, they were left outside in the dark.
With the sad news about Tennessee’s favorite getaway, the Great Smoky Mountains and the little town of Gatlinburg next door, I’ve been thinking about how important it is to be ready.
One of the stories I heard about that immense tragedy concerned gasoline. As a couple was preparing to evacuate, the man noticed a couple of lawn mowers and realized that if the fire got close, the gasoline inside them would explode, making the fire worse. He decided to take the lawn mowers with them.
As the couple was leaving, other evacuees got their attention and told them that they needed gasoline for their car. The couple with the lawn mowers were able to give the other evacuees lifesaving gasoline from the lawn mowers.
Ray has a standard policy of keeping enough gasoline in our car so that we could get to Nashville without having to stop for gas. I appreciate so much this one of many ways that he takes care of us.
After I heard the story about the gasoline, I decided to be sure and tell you about it. Imagine what it would be like to be in the midst of a tragedy and have to find a gas station. Even if it were open, there might be twenty families waiting in a line desperate for the same thing yours was needing just as badly.
The motto “Be Prepared” is a good one. I wonder how many lives it has saved.
I love you enough to remind you to be prepared for tough times on earth. Jesus loved us enough to teach us to be prepared for eternity.
And you love your children enough to teach them both.
Be on the alert then,
for you do not know the day nor the hour.
Matthew 25:13