A Little More: Part II
Scripture:
Joel 2:13
Rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the LORD, your God,
for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast
love, and relents from punishing.
So it was during Lent of last
year that my estranged friend called me and extended an invitation. While I was hesitant given our 17 years of distance, I said, "Yes".
When she arrived at my home, all of my reservations left. My dear friend had returned, what joy! We did not know where this part of the journey
would take us; however, we immediately felt blessed as a result of returning to
one another. As we opened up to one another, reflecting our college years,
updating one another on the years in between, the years of our professional
lives, getting married, raising our families, the rift between seemed to dissolve. We both took a risk and it
paid off. She hugged and kissed my
babies as though they were hers and we planned for the day when I would be able
to engage her children in a similar fashion.
Last year, she visited me during Lent, this year, I want to visit her
during Lent.
Many of our most meaningful
relationships are symbolized by journeys in which we are constantly returning
to one another, and so it is with God.
The good news is that Lent provides us with a standing appointment to
reconnect with God, if we have failed to do so otherwise. There is no need to allow the
"distance" to accumulate over 5, 10 or 17 years! Each year (everyday technically), we are
invited to return to our Creator and to renew our relationship.
Consider engaging in one or a
few of the following practices to enliven your relationship with God:
- Wake up 30 minutes earlier or go to bed 30 minutes later each day and pray and meditate.
- Choose a symbol or an object to mark your journey with God during this season, reflect and pray using this symbol/object daily.
- Learn to do something that you have always been afraid to do. Invite God into this process with you. Explore what happens.
Prayer: O God, put a
new and right spirit within me. Even
when I resist you, do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your
holy spirit from me. Restore to me the
joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. Amen.
The Reverend Tiffney Marley
