KEEPING LENT AND CHOCOLATE?

In days passed, I equated Lent with Loss…especially the loss of things near and dear to me like chocolate. Only recently have I begun to realize that ‘giving up’ my favorite sweet does not ensure a holy Lent, that’s the result of ‘taking on’…and not for forty days, but for a lifetime. When St. Benedict wrote his Rule for the life of a monastic community in the 6th century, he charged his monks to live a ‘continuous Lent’, and the rest of us to use the Lenten season to “wash away the negligences of other times”. Lent is a gift that encourages us to refocus, and if necessary reintroduce ourselves to the Lord and reaffirm our desire to walk in His ways.

In an article in The Lutheran, Debra Farrington outlined seven areas needing attention in our lives today. They go something like this:

1. TIME WITH GOD: While most of us desire quiet time with the Lord, few of us accomplish it…maybe because we make too much of preparing for it and too little of enjoying the experience itself. We don’t need a cathedral for communion with Him… we just need a quiet place and a ready heart. Remember, the Lord knows us better than we know ourselves. We can’t surprise Him or shock Him or tell Him anything He doesn’t already know. We can, however, come into His presence for an honest conversation…sometimes talking, sometimes listening…always the better for it.

2. TIME FOR WORK: It’s been reported that during the decade of the ‘90s Americans added a week to their work schedules. Many of us have put work at the heart of our lives, not God. Maybe we need to reassess our schedules to make sure we have set appropriate priorities for ourselves.

3. TIME FOR REST: We live in a nation of the ‘Sleep-Deprived’. This phenomenon is playing itself out on our streets and highways as more and more accidents are being caused by drivers falling asleep at the wheel. Children aren’t the only ones who need a realistic ‘bed-time’. Adults need proper rest to be able to vigorously enjoy each day’s physical and spiritual responsibilities.

4. TIME TO ‘CHILL’: Have you ever thought about how much energy we expend being irritated with others? Lent might just be the time to put aside the annoyances of daily life. There will always be those who do things differently than we do, or see things differently than we do…but shouldn’t we be looking for Christ in them rather than complaining about them?

5. TIME TO ‘BACK OFF’: Lent is a time for us to come into a deeper understanding of our place in God’s heart. Our worth isn’t found in the ‘things’ of this world, but in the fact that we are God’s beloved children. Maybe this is the time for us take a break from the consumerism around us. Maybe instead of purchasing more ‘treasures of this world’, we could use that money for the benefit of some of God’s other beloved children.

6. TIME FOR STUDY: Once again St. Benedict’s Lenten guidelines for his monks could well apply to us. He decreed that every monk be given a book to read during this season. What wonderful advice…to find a book that opens our relationship with God and read through it, alone or with a group. In today’s world, Benedict’s instruction might include taking a course, visiting an art gallery, or going to a concert or movie, as long as we’re intent on learning more about God’s world and the riches of His revelation.

7. TIME FOR SELF: St. Paul taught that our bodies are God’s temples {1 Corinthians 3:16} and deserve extraordinary care. We’re to be eating well, exercising enough, and taking time for relaxation and play…all without guilt because we do it with the knowledge that we’re caring for one of God’s great gifts and nurturing the sacredness of our lives.

I pray for each of us a Holy Lent…a time of enrichment and growth…a time of peace and prayer and love…a very special time in the Lord.

Blessings,

Kathy+