preparation makes perfect

My clothes are by my suitcase, my passport is on my desk; it seems that I will be leaving this place I've called home for 18 years to travel farther and longer than I ever have before. After reading Metaxas' new biography on the life of Bonhoeffer, I can't help but wonder what these adventures are preparing me to do. Bonhoeffer ended his first visit to America in turmoil, thinking he had made a mistake. Little did he know that his experiences with the African-American Church were foundational to his immediate fight against the Nazi treatment of the Jewish people. He apologized to the German Church for leaving the struggle, not realizing that his time in America would give him grave devotion and great courage to face "evil incarnate." It seems that God does not waste our time with pointless experiences. Instead, he uses every tidbit and morsel to shape us, prepare us, and use us. May we be faithful, may we prove to be sealed in the book of life.