Living in Lent

We find ourselves today solidly in the season of Lent.

Days of darkness

of searching our souls

of struggle

of saying no to things that hold us.

It is hard to find the light in Lent...

unless we sneak ahead with the spring colors

and bunnies

and chocolate eggs -

Just as March and April struggle to transition between winter and spring -

So it is for us.

And yet, we are invited into this darkness.

It is ultimately a darkness of our own choosing -

we are not thrust into these spaces but rather we are called into them.

For eventually

if we sit still

and quiet

and let the darkness engulf our vision...

We will begin to find stars

moons

planets

and our small place among them all.

And - for those with the courage

to sit in the winter

the wilderness

the dark night of the soul -

there is finally hope of redemption

and the knowledge that we are

never

in darkness

alone.

“Who would stick around to wrestle a dark angel all night long if there were any chance of escape? The only answer I can think of is this: someone in deep need of blessing; someone willing to limp forever for the blessing that follows the wound.”

― Barbara Brown Taylor, Learning to Walk in the Dark: Because Sometimes God Shows Up at Night