woke up so early
Shrove Tuesday? maybe or not
it’s been Lent so long.
I belong to a Poetry Group, and one of our Poets likes to invite us to “Haiku Tuesdays.” The above was my last offering, on a day that in my tradition usually includes pancakes, and sometimes red beans and rice and Zydeco music. This year, a small, masked and distanced crew made pancakes and sausage for contactless pickup in our church parking lot. Quiet and contained, after an almost year-long Pandemic, it felt like a celebration nonetheless.
Earlier in my spiritual journey, I would often enter Lent with intensity, intentionality and a plan. There were things to let go of or give up, and there were things to take on. A few Lenten disciplines included fasting, or more honestly, dieting — and there were other Lents that included adding more prayer and meditation or more community service. I can’t say I saw every one of those intentions through, and when I did, I can say that they didn’t really bring me to any higher awareness or deeper relationship with God. Perhaps I was doing the Lent thing wrong; perhaps my true intentions had little to do with readying my self and my spirit for Holy Week and Easter.
2021 being what it is, I’ve made no grand Lenten pronouncements. I am instead doing my best to open myself each day to openness, to revelation, to kindness, to courage, to collaboration, to encouragement, to compassion, to awareness, and to whatever the day brings. A lot can happen in 40 days (more or less), and I’m praying for just that.
Today — it’s snowing again, and I’m having a slow and quiet day, watching the snow fall a bit more than I usually allow myself to do — the snowfall reminding me that whatever my agenda or intentions, at this time of year and at others, Spirit will do what Spirit will do. Maybe staying open to that movement is the best way to keep Lent this year.
Prayers ascending that this season in your journey brings a blanketing healing, comfort, courage and hope.
Prayers that we come out of the multiple Pandemics in our world renewed, restored and resurrected.