Greetings again...
Well, Lent begins today...
I received the ashes on my forehead during an Ash Wednesday observance at the Sun City office of LifePath Hospice...
I left them on -- wore them all day...
In my journal, I wrote some ramdom thoughts about beginning the Lenten journey in 2010 -- so here goes...
I am so thankful for the upcoming 40 days -- a season set apart for reflection, evaluation and engagement...
My ashes reminded me of the brokenness of our world...
My ashes reminded me of the imperfection of people -- including me...
Am I broken over my own brokenness?
What about you?
I remember the words of Jesus: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted..."
I guess mourning must come before the comfort...
Lent will be a season for transformation -- first will come awareness, then action, then grace and change...
The journey is a "coming home" in a spiritual sense...
In the words of Henri Nouwen: "We are not what we do. We are not what we have. We are not what others think of us. Coming home is claiming the truth. I am the beloved child of a loving Creator."
I love the thought from Richard Rohr today in RADICAL GRACE: "Spirituality is about WAKING UP! We have lost the spiritual disciplines and tools to know how to remain awake..."
I am praying for a wake up call -- 40 days to WAKE UP!!!
What are our points of blindness???
What do we NOT see???
How will we come to see???
Time in God's presence...
Extra reflection...
Revelation...
Being with the Lord until we see with his eyes...
Spiritual eyes wide open...
Rohr continues: Sometimes "it's the hole in our soul, that place where we are radically broken, where we are powerless and therefore open" -- God enters in through the open door of our pain, brokenness and woundedness...
In the next 40 days plus, I want to embrace my shadow -- rather than hate it, fight it and curse it...
How so???
Be honest about the shadow -- it is there and it is a part of ME!
Grow in awareness of the shadow side of me...
Accept the reality that I am accepted by my Father -- my shadow does not scare him...
Embrace my shadow -- in admitting my powerlessness, i will discover God's power...
Celebrate my shadow as a prime entrance point of God's grace...
I am ready for the journey...
Actually looking forward to it...
How about you???
It will be even better if we go together...
Pax...
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Such a wonderful reminder of our Lord's journey. I look forward to it every year. This year, N8 and I and the boys have given up eating out to spend more time cooking and sharing meals together at home. Wish you and Nancy could join us! We always learn so much from your journey....
ReplyDeletePeace, cindi
i miss you guys so much... wish we could share the journey in closer proximity to one another... our hearts are always together, BUT I wish our bodies were a little closer...
ReplyDeleteI will join you in learning to embrace myself over these next 40 days. Perhaps what I need to give up is the constant focus on all that I perceive is wrong with me and begin to see God's Glory revealed in and through me. Perhaps it's time to stop hating the person God loves so much and took time to knit. We are his art and his craftsmanship. If he calls it good, who are we to argue with that?
ReplyDeleteYou go girl!!!
ReplyDelete