The Readiness is All

I'm enough of an English nerd to have a favorite soliloquy in Shakespeare's Hamlet. (And no, it's not the one you're thinking of.) It's a short speech given near the conclusion of the play. Hamlet's friend, Horatio, offers him a chance to escape the duel that is about to begin. The entire play has been building to this confrontation, but Hamlet feels uneasy as he approaches action. Horatio takes his misgivings seriously and assures Hamlet that he can get him out of the fight. Hamlet replies:

"Not a whit, we defy augury: there's a special
providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now,
'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be
now; if it be not now, yet it will come-- the
readiness is all: since no man knows aught of what he
leaves, what is't to leave betimes? Let be." (Hamlet, Act V, scene II)

[And since you should always see Shakespeare rather than just read him, you can watch the soliloquy here.]

It is a beautiful scene in the play. Hamlet, one of history's most impressive procrastinators, finally realizes that he must fulfill the mission given him by his father, even if it means his death. [Spoiler alert: he absolutely dies, as does pretty much every other character in the play.] He has stalled and stalled all through the play, trying to find ways to fulfill his charge without putting himself in harm's way. He has frittered away time, done significant damage to the most important relationships in his life, and basically been a giant dithering wuss. But in this moment, he realizes the imminence of his death, accepts it, and acts anyway. It is a bold, yet quiet moment of heroism, and I love it. He knows the worst that can happen, and he steps forward anyway for truth, justice, and a filial loyalty born of love.

As I sit in this season of waiting, I am comforted by the wisdom in this soliloquy. Hamlet declares that "the readiness is all." By this, he doesn't mean that it all comes down to the sword training he's been doing. He doesn't mean that his investigations and preparations have concluded and left him mightily prepared to triumph. What he means is that he knows death awaits him, and he is willing to accept that for the sake of what he stands for, what he is called to. The readiness he is talking about is the ability to face death in your fight and keep fighting.

So as I wait for my foster parent license to be finalized, I stand with Hamlet. Ready to suffer. Ready to sacrifice. Ready for heartbreak and hopelessness and hurt. Ready to be wounded as never before and to be healed as never before. Ready to see the Almighty strength of my Savior in the unending weakness of His servant. Ready to rely on the Providence that guides the stumbling sparrow.

And the readiness is all.

Who is among you that fears the LORD,
That obeys the voice of His servant,
That walks in darkness and has no light?
Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.
--Isaiah 50:10