{"id":12937,"date":"2023-02-17T18:53:18","date_gmt":"2023-02-17T23:53:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/?p=12937"},"modified":"2023-02-17T18:54:35","modified_gmt":"2023-02-17T23:54:35","slug":"this-lent-let-god-set-the-course","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/life-lines\/this-lent-let-god-set-the-course\/","title":{"rendered":"This Lent, let God set the course"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Back when I was younger, I would approach Ash Wed\u00adnes\u00adday in spiritual attack mode. Armed with books and an overly ambitious plan, I entered the Lenten season like a tourist set on seeing every attraction in a city while missing out on the true charm of a place. By the second or third week of Lent, I\u2019d find myself deflated and disappointed, wondering how I ended up so far from my original destination.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the benefits of aging, however, has been a softer and gentler approach to this challenging season. I\u2019ve become more realistic about what I might accomplish during Lent, or any other day of my life. I know how easy it is to set overwhelming goals \u2014 spiritual or otherwise \u2014 and give up in frustration before any new habits have taken root. So, this year, as we prepare to begin our 40-day journey through the desert toward resurrection, I\u2019m packing light. Yes, I still have plans but those lean more toward the possible, maybe even probable, rather than the impossible.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s good to remember as we begin this journey that it\u2019s okay if it\u2019s not always a direct route from Point A to Point B. We are human, after all, and although we sometimes don\u2019t seem to grasp that, God does. There will be days when we feel as though we\u2019re not making any spiritual \u201cprogress,\u201d and other times when we seem to be slipping farther and farther from our goal. Fortunately for us, God is kind and merciful. And patient beyond measure.<\/p>\n

So, take a deep breath and just begin. Right where you are. If you stumble along the way, dust yourself off and begin again. Transformation doesn\u2019t come in an instant or all at once. It comes bit by bit and with daily effort. It also comes only with a willingness to let go of our need to control where this season will take us. We often want a transformation of our own making, rather than accepting the version God has planned for us. What if we loosened our grip on the reins and let God set the course?<\/p>\n

Pope Francis says, \u201cLent comes providentially to reawaken us, to shake us from our lethargy.\u201d Let\u2019s take a moment and contemplate what needs to be reawakened in us, what needs a little shaking up. To keep us steady and on track, we can stake out a dwelling place \u2014 even if only for a few minutes each day \u2014 in the heart of Scripture, where we will find guideposts and markers to move us along.<\/p>\n

We start each Lent with the stark reminder that we are dust and to dust we will return. Even if we get the more contemporary refrain \u2014 Repent and believe in the Gospel \u2014 that smudge of ash from last year\u2019s burned palms is reminder enough of our temporary status on this planet. It\u2019s such a beautiful way to begin, stripping it all down to the basics. We are here, but not for long. What do we plan to do with the brief time we have? How will God figure into those plans?<\/p>\n

The poet Mary Oliver, in her poem \u201cWhen Death Comes,\u201d writes:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it\u2019s over, I don\u2019t want to wonder<\/em>
\nif I have made of my life something particular, and real.<\/em>
\nI don\u2019t want to find myself sighing and frightened<\/em>
\nor full of argument.<\/em>
\nI don\u2019t want to end up simply having visited this world.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Perhaps we can take Oliver\u2019s words to heart as we head into Lent, planning not to tackle an unrealistic list of things to do and sights to see but instead fostering a desire to slow down and make something \u201cparticular and real\u201d of a season that offers us time apart to move closer to who and what God has called us to be.<\/p>\n

I’ll be offering several Lenten retreats in the weeks ahead: Thursday, March 2, 6:30 p.m. at St. Kateri Tekakwitha in Niskayuna, NY; Saturday, March 11, 10 a.m. at St. Patrick\u2019s in Ravena, NY; and Wednesday, March 15, 7 p.m. via Zoom. For more information, click HERE<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Photo by Ahna Ziegler<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Back when I was younger, I would approach Ash Wed\u00adnes\u00adday in spiritual attack mode. 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