Getting Close

When Spring arrives, which it definitely has in Atlanta where I spent the last week, it becomes much harder to stay in "Lent mode." Everything is just too glorious. When Spring springs, I want to throw off everything that feels old or tired or routine.

Of course, "Lent" actually means "spring." Lent is SUPPOSED to happen in the Spring. It is supposed to be a time of growth and preparation for new life. It's just that Lent, to me, is supposed to feel like February.

At any rate, the sunshine is feeling warmer and the days are longer and the blooms are bursting out all over and the birds are putting up a racket every morning.

And yet it is still Lent, even while it is April.

And so my prayer today is for help in continuing to keep a holy Lent and not throwing it off quite yet, to wait a bit longer, to stay in Lent mode, to see it through. My discipline this year has been to be attentive and intentional about relationships and interactions as I move through a time of transition. And that transition continues as I leave one place and enter another.

The scenery is always changing. The challenge is to keep the focus where it should be while still enjoying the ride. Happy April, happy Spring, happy Lent!