Jesus continued, “Be on your guard. Don’t let the sharp edge of your expectation get dulled by parties
and drinking and shopping. Otherwise, that Day is going to take you by complete surprise, spring on you
suddenly like a trap, for it’s going to come on everyone, everywhere, at once. So, whatever you do, don’t
go to sleep at the switch. Pray constantly that you will have the strength and wits to make it through
everything that’s coming and end up on your feet before the Son of Man”. (Luke 21: 34 – 36)

It had been a very difficult day at work, a day filled with anxieties and conflicts and much uncertainty.
I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders. All I wanted to do was go home, lie on the couch, and
watch TV. Maybe I’d pull the blanket up over my head and go to sleep. As I walked to the train,
thoughts of hibernating were all that propelled me toward home. On the train I could barely keep my
eyes open. Afraid I was going to drift off to sleep and miss my stop, I moved toward the exit and stood
on the stairs looking out the window.

At that time we lived right across the street from the train tracks. As the train began to slow about
kilometre out of the station, we passed my house. The way the sun was shining I could see clearly into
my living room. My two daughters, 3-and 5 years-old, were spinning and twirling and laughing in our
living room. My heart leapt. My energy revived. I found myself quickening my pace from the time I got
off the train to when I was running up our street to our front door. When I opened the door I could
hear the sounds of the music and laughter and that wonderful squeal, “Daddy’s home!”
Jesus warns his disciples, “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from … the anxieties of
daily life”. Thanks to my daughters, that evening I threw myself off my drowsiness and anxiety and
joined in the dancing