How is your Lent going?
Two years ago, my Mom told me that sometimes God give you your Lent. That year, my Aunt and Uncle were looking to make the transition in to a Nursing Home. Mom and Dad spent most of Lent driving them around to many different facilities looking for the right place. This was not what Mom had planned to do for Lent, but on Easter Day when she told me about it I think she felt that she had had a good Lent. "Sometimes God gives you your Lent."
Last year, as Lent approached I made my plans. I felt that I really had not had a very good Lent the year before, so I wanted to be more focused. All my plans flew out the window when Mom went into Hospice on the Friday after Ash Wednesday. "Sometimes God gives you your Lent."
In my own mind, I say that last year I gave up my Mother for Lent. That may sound crass or even flippant, but that's not how I mean it - or how I feel it. Last year my Lent was spent in praying for and with my Mom, spending time with my Dad and my siblings and receiving love and compassion from family and friends. Although I did not mourn in the way that I would have expected to, I think that having this happen during Lent brought my loss a different perspective and gave me a new view of the Lenten season. "Sometimes God gives you your Lent."
This year I decided that I was going to have a really good Lent. I wanted this Lent to be very contemplative and take advantage of every opportunity to grow spiritually. Our Parish had scheduled so many opportunities for prayer and learning - and I wanted to do them all! In fact, in the first 17 days of Lent I was at my church or another church for at least an hour on 16 of those days. My calendar for the next few weeks was similarly full. I feel that this was working. I have spent more time in prayer and spiritual reading and have grown in my friendships with people at my Church.
However, in just a few days, we have gone from a place where the Corona virus was something that we heard about happening somewhere else to where it is turning our world upside down. So many events and activities have been cancelled or postponed that we are all reeling from the impact. While this has hit me fairly lightly in comparison to so many others, it still brings to mind what Mom told me two years ago -- "Sometimes God give you your Lent."
So, what is it that God is giving us this Lent? He is giving us a chance to slow down (more like a mandate!). He is calling us to be more contemplative - to be human beings and not human doings. He is giving families time to spend enjoying each other's company rather than rushing from one activity to another. He is also calling us to trust in Him in this unsettled time and in our fear and worry.
"Sometimes God gives you your Lent." What will you take away from Lent this year?
Thank you for this perspective. I think of all of the tiny things that I've given up for Lent so many years and I felt a little myself like this year God has taken me by the shoulders, shaken me, and said, "that's not what I meant!" I myself often need reminded that growing closer to him should be what all of the outer exercises are all about and that they are not ends unto themselves.
ReplyDelete