Watching and WaitingWatching and waiting, looking above,Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.(Blessed Assurance, Fanny J. Crosby) In this Sunday’s Gospel, we read the Parable of the Ten Maidens. Five of whom are described as wise and five as foolish.The Wise and the FoolishTen maidens took their lamps and hastened to meet the bridegroom, the time of whose arrival none knew. The five wise maidens had prepared themselves quite well for the wait. They had their lamps and flasks of oil in case they ran out of oil. The five foolish ones demonstrated no such forethought and preparedness. They did not bring any additional oil.The Predicament of the Ill PreparedWhen it was announced that the bridegroom would arrive shortly; the foolish maidens realized that they had not enough oil to keep their lamps burning. While they were away buying the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The wise maidens entered the banquet with him, while the door was shut to the ones who had not been prepared.Waiting for the BridegroomJesus Christ, while narrating the parable, said that the Kingdom of Heaven should be understood as the ten maidens who waited for the arrival of the bridegroom. The predicament of the foolish maidens is a cautionary tale; one, we must pay heed to even as we await the coming of Christ–the Bridegroom in all His glory.