There are ten bridesmaids in the parable in Matthew 25:1-13. Five are called wise and the other five foolish. Late into the night of the wedding, all ten are waiting to meet the bridegroom. Where is the bride? We have no idea, which is a hint that the parable is not a true story. In a true story, the bride is somewhere.
In this parable, the five bridesmaids are wise because they planned ahead, anticipating that the bridegroom would be late. They prepared by bringing extra oil for their oil lamps. The five foolish bridesmaids only brought what they expected they would need. They brought enough oil for a bridegroom who knew that 15 minutes early is on time and on time is late.
This dude was extremely late. Late. Late. Late.
All the bridesmaids took a nap while they waited. When someone shouted that the bridegroom was on his way, the five foolish bridesmaids woke to realize the oil in their lamps were running out. They asked their wise friends for more oil, but they declined, sending the foolish out to find an lamp oil shop in the middle of the night.
Did you know there are podcasts for people who enjoy planning and planners? Entire podcasts giving tips on daily, monthly, quarterly, yearly planning, as well as highlighters, markers and pens. On Monday, I listened eagerly to a podcaster’s pen recommendations. Eagerly!
Planning, however, can pose a problem. If we are too eager to plan our days and lives, we cling to the oil in our own lamps. We cling to the routine, cling to the comfort, cling to our own plans and favorite pens.
The parable wakes me up to recognize life is not an adventure to be planned. When people arrive asking for oil, they are not a disruption but an unexpected part of the adventure. I like to think I would have been a wise bridesmaid in the story. But unlike the wise in the story, I would have shared my oil and not sent the others out into the night to pointlessly look for a 24-hour lamp oil shop.
Blessed are those who plan without growing too attached to their plans. And blessed are those whose plans include a radiant response to the unexpected.
Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash
Lisa Lewton 
Thank you for this beautiful reminder of non attachment to plans. The ability to pivot from the carefully laid out planner- it’s so hard. I was reading something- this man broke his long term favorite mug and was surprisingly to others not dev
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Thank you for this beautiful reminder of non attachment to plans. The ability to pivot from the carefully laid out planner- it’s so hard. I was reading something- this man broke his favorite mug and was surprisingly to others not upset. His friend asked him about it and he said in his mind the mug was already broken. The pen is already lost? We are all dust? Is that the message??? I know I’m still really careful with my mugs….
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