We are nearing the homestretch of Lent. This has been a significant journey. Forty days – it isn’t exactly eternal, but in our instant society, forty days of anything tests our will and discipline. Really, for me, I think Lent simply tests our attention. Can I pay attention to God’s ongoing work for a stretch of days? Must I always be moving on to the next thing, the next truth, the rush, the next idea? Can I just sit and wait and hope and listen and receive?
And this is not all sour stuff. As I read this morning, one writer pointed out how the Taize Book of Common Prayer refers to Lent’s forty days as “a celebration of the joy of God’s forgiveness.” I like that.
Hear are a few things this stretch of Lent is telling me (reminds me, really):
+I am too tied to technology, particularly email. I want to shut it down more often.
+Food is intended for joy and pleasure (as well as nourishment, of course), but it can also be a way of hiding. In my youth, food (and lots of it) was one of our few acceptable vices. Now, I often run to food when I’m bored or anxious or angry or afraid. I’d rather run to God.
+God wants to heal my broken places; he really does.
+I love my wife and boys … (in the words of Dick Cheney) big time.
+Something’s up. God is stirring. God is moving. Risk and joy and life ahead.
Has Lent reminded you of any truths?
peace / Winn