I, accidentally, threw a towel into my wash with my black slacks. Oops! Lint – those little fibers from that towel got all over those pants. I proceeded to pull out my trusty, sticky lint remover roller and I got all those tiny balls of lint off of them.
My word for today is LENT (not LINT). Often we hear the word "Lent" and we think "lint”. Actually, “Lent” and “lint” sort of mean the same thing. It’s taking the time to "come clean" -- to rid ourselves of the funk and junk that has settled in our hearts.You better believe if I knew Jesus was coming to my house today, I'd make sure it was "spic and span"! And, He does make His residence in us, so shouldn't we be sure that our hearts and minds are "swept clean" for His place of residence?
Lent is a time to open the doors of our hearts a little wider and understand our Lord a little deeper, so that when Good Friday and eventually, Easter comes, it is not just another day at church, but an opportunity to receive the overflowing graces God has to offer. Lent gives us the opportunity to contemplate what our Lord really did for us on the cross -- and it wasn't pretty, and it’s about a laser focus on Christ’s resurrection.
Yesterday was Ash Wednesday (the first time since 1945 that Ash Wednesday and Valentine's Day fell on February 14th). Ash Wednesday was a call out to us for amping up our LOVE LIFE with Christ and Valentine's Day was a call out to us for amping up our LOVE LIFE with others. Lent continues on for 40 days (symbolic to the 40 days Jesus was in the wilderness) through Holy Thursday just before Easter. It's the time of intentional laser focus on HIM -- about HIS love for us. It's about heart change -- from "It's all about me" to "It's all about YOU, God!" “We stand honestly before God and say, ‘You are God and I am not."
Typically, our thoughts are more on what our next meal will be, or the next TV show to watch, or the next assignment we'll be on to, or the plans for the weekend or the next trip or vacation we'll take. Many times, we simply go about our routines without really ever giving God a second thought. So, what if, for the next 40 days, we were able to be less distracted from our relationship with Him by making a few changes to our routine -- taking bites of time to dig deeper, pray more, be kinder to those around us, maybe take a walk to bask in God and His creation -- just to get closer to Him in our thoughts and actions.
Perhaps as we acknowledge the little things that sometimes distract us from God, we could become more aware of the weight of His sacrifice for us. Then this Easter will be a REAL resurrection to celebrate -- the resurrection from our OLD selves to our NEW selves in Him. Indeed "It's all about You -- not me, Lord!"
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