“Each year, around the latter part of winter, Lent arrives.
It nearly always surprises me.
Here it is, once again, summoning me to change how I typically live.”
W. David O. Taylor
It’s the middle of February. So far, I’ve done none of the things I said I would do, started none of the goals I set myself on January 1. Life got in the way. The Urgent elbowed out the Important. May as well just give up. But wait! Maybe there’s a way to start again.
Lent comes providentially,
to reawaken us,
to shake us from our lethargy.
Pope Francis
What if I reframe my “goals” for Lent? This could be so much better. The things I couldn’t do with a whole year in front of me might be doable for a 40-day timeframe. A time with a definite beginning, a definite end with a new(er) me. A hope. A Resurrection!
“Lent is not something we do for God –
Lent is something we do with God.”
(unknown)
And maybe that will make all the difference. On January 1st, I was considering the changes I wanted to make. Perhaps now I will listen for instructions before I make decisions.
What do you want Lent to be about for me this year, God?
What do you want me to be about for You this Lent, God?
(unknown)
Yes. I think this year, starting Wednesday, I will definitely take a mulligan.
“In the here and now,
may we embrace the power of his resurrection to live a godly life.”
Joni Eareckson Tada
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*A mulligan is a second chance to perform an action, usually after the first chance went wrong through bad luck or a blunder.