“His unfailing love and mercy continue as sure as the
sunrise." ~ Lamentations 3:22-23
On a dreary February afternoon, Grace
dutifully made her way to the Chapel. Before
Christians can celebrate Easter, they must first pass through Lent which begins
on Ash Wednesday. Words like ‘sacrifice’
and ‘discipline’ are often used in ways that suggest Lent is something to be endured
rather than appreciated.
She reluctantly shuffled obediently toward the altar wearing
the lines of remorse across her face. Grace
was struck by the menacing words, “Thou are dust,” pronounced over each person
as their foreheads were blackened with the charred ash of last year’s palms.
The crucifix, the priest’s solemn expression, and the smell
of ash assailed her senses. Childhood
memories of giving up candy, sitting through Stations of the Cross, and the
ocean flooded her consciousness.
Wait! What does the ocean
have to do with Lent she wondered, trying to refocus her thoughts. Her mind wandered to the time she first encountered
a crystal blue ocean.
Moving into even deeper water, she turned her body sideways
so that she didn’t take the full force of the wave on her chest. The water’s too powerful otherwise. Finally, she dove into the next wave and fully
immersed herself.
For the next few minutes, Grace kept her feet off the sandy
bottom, moving her arms and legs to tread water. She just went with the flow, becoming ONE with
the ocean; surrendering to its power, floating freely.
“Amen,” she muttered, hearkening back to reality; receiving the
symbolic reminder of her own mortality. Once
back in the pew, Grace reflected on her oceanic daydream.
Sometimes, we stubbornly face the waves with our feet firmly
planted in the sand; falsely believing we can overpower them. It’s not long before we’re knocked down with
saltwater up to our eyeballs. If we
don’t change what we’re doing, we’ll drown.
Life’s like that she thought. Lent is more than giving something up.
Rather, it’s a season of more deeply ‘giving in’ or ‘surrendering
to’ something more beautiful, more just, more kind, more acceptable to Christ. It’s a second chance; six weeks to take a
long, loving look at our lives to see if
our values and priorities are in line with God’s desires for us.
Maybe we should breathe deeply and float for a while as we appreciate
His beauty and goodness that restores our souls.
Lord, like You, the ocean is a source of
life, strength and tranquility. Let this
Lenten season be, for me, a do-over; an chance to surrender my whole heart to You. Help it be a meaningful time of prayer, contrition,
and giving myself to others. Amen
