Lent has always been special to me. Growing up in the Catholic tradition, it was all about giving something up, like sodas or chocolate, and not eating meat on Fridays. I never understood the Lenten season until I was older. It is a time of reflection. A somber time that brings us to our knees as we find ways to commune with the Divine in a deeper, more meaningful way than before. I eventually learned that it was not about giving something up as much as it is to find that connection to my Creator that sustains me.

In a year without ashes, I am finding a different way to connect as the season begins. On a corner of my kitchen island, I created a Lenten altar. There is a bowl of dirt symbolizing that we came from dust and to dust we will return. A candle shines as a reminder of the light of Christ, with prayer beads and my clinging cross as well as the devotional my congregation is reading, 40 Days with Wesley, by Ruben Job and some frankincense. I even printed some prayers by Jan Richardson.

As my 15-year-old son walked through the kitchen, I asked him what he knew about Lent. Being the son of two pastors, he says, “I don’t really know.” Sigh. I showed him the altar and explained the significance of Ash Wednesday and the season that is beginning. My altar may not mean much to him right now, but perhaps one day, when he has a family of his own, and hopefully his faith will be a part of his life, he will remember that his mom paid attention to these things. They were important to her.

This season I am working on my relationship with my God. It is not enough to say prayers with my congregation each week as I develop online worship. It is about being in tune with the Holy Spirit. So often we move about our days doing the next right thing on our list of to do’s and we begin to take things for granted, such as our relationship with God. We focus on our faith when things are not going well. A loved one is sick, finances are running low, and you are at the end of your rope. The immediate thing to do is cry out to God for help. While that is a good thing, I know that there is more.

I want to cry out to God regularly and lavish praise on our Creator! Not just when I get good news, but in the middle of the normal, ordinary, mundane of life, I need to be one who recognizes the glory of God.

Lent is a time of sacrifice, self-examination, and reflection. I am spending time in devotion and prayer to God so that my prayers of praise and thanksgiving come naturally.

Will you join me?

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. Snow
2. Peanuts
3. Wet puppy paws
4. Boundaries
5. Vitamin Water Zero