Here we go. That four letter word: Lent. Like it or not, ready or not, we find ourselves in this strange weather and, perhaps quite unexpectedly, in the beginning of those famous forty days. I caught myself saying several times, Is it Ash Wednesday already? It’s March already? Perhaps you’re saying the same thing.
The other day my father was telling me about the utter craziness of raising three children in his late twenties in the humid air of Miami traffic and in a less than ideal neighborhood. I commented back something along the line of, Well it’s good that those days are over. He surprised me—he said he missed them!
On some level that can be read as sad, but I don’t think it is. (My father is still quite busy!) I think it is a blessing. Being busy, being tired, means we’re working. We’re building up the kingdom of God with every small daily victory. The child’s project done, her teeth brushed before 8:00 p.m. The boss extending a deadline. Eating the apple instead of the breakfast sandwich.
This season of paying the last of the Christmas credit card bills, finding the dress for the upcoming Communion, this time of baseball try-outs, of having to get the oil changed before dropping off the kid to dance practice is harried and crazy. How can the Lord expect us to slow down and meditate on our sinfulness? Now, we’re supposed to give up caffeine or that glass of wine at the end of the day! Now, we’re supposed to not eat the Friday cheeseburger.
We follow nature’s example. Just before the bud blossoms there must be so much activity just beneath the surface and that’s like Lent. In the craziness of daily life we feel that little pang of hunger to say, God is coming. Among the busy day we brush our forehead by accident and realize the ash is still there—a small reminder that the God of love is right next to you. Dad’s right: Remember the craziness, but remember who is working right next to you—your beloved Lord. Happy Lenting.
I’ll be seeing you,
Elliot