Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Ash Wednesday Preparation-The Journey Begins

Okay, so tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent. It is time that many of us decide we are going to "give up" something. The "giving up" something could be as significant as alcohol or unhealthy relationships, or as insignificant as candy. Whatever the case may be, we often look back on these past attempts to eliminate things from our lives and feel the disappointment of having caved in to temptation, failing in our sincere attempt to re-order our lives. It seems another in the inevitable list of disappointments and failings.
This year, however, why don't we do something different? Why don't we use this season of preparation, leading to the celebration of new life at Easter, as a time to journey together in a spirit of hope. We are beginning this "Journey of Hope" on Ash Wednesday, and continuing throughtout the season of Lent, by looking at issues like self-esteem, money/power, relationships, careers/jobs, tempation, suffering and death. I think that as we take this journey together we are going to realize that we have much more in common than we thought. And that the love of God in Christ is experienced in the way that we journey to hope, together.

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for your encouraging statements about the spirit of hope that is present in this season of Lent. You have written so eloquently! It's good to reflect on the concept that when one falls into a rut of negative thought patterns, there is a way to break out of this way of thinking. It's nice to feel like one can have a "fresh start", no matter what circumstances they are facing.

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