Start of Lent

I do love Lent.  I don't always have very much to say, and will happily confess to having played Rend to you all last year because I really wasn't doing too much thinking of my own! This part of Lent is nonetheless very much about the return for me. That's the first section in my annual Lent book. The Return.

Getting back has usually been about getting back to daily time for thought and inspiration. This year however, after a particularly wet, grey, tired Autumn and Winter, I'm also very much getting back to blue skies and natural warmth, getting back to suns running around outside, getting back to what's important in lots of ways. I sat for most of this morning, drinking tea and crocheting with Heather Boss, watching our apple blossom tree through the window. I'm sure the blossoms were appearing before my eyes.

Even having our house on the market makes me consider what is incontrovertibly important to us. Speaking of the possible move, when I looked back at Jane's list of Lenten thoughts, the two that struck me most tonight were:

Fast from worry; feast on divine order.

Fast from problems that overwhelm; feast on prayer that strengthens.

Getting back to divine order and strengthening prayer would be a fine Pause in Lent! It's perhaps no coincidence that this house business is starting in Lent. We're wandering around in a complete state of uncertainty, trusting wholly in God's provision, facing months of uncertainty, and the wandering journey has to be part of our faith story- part of the whole family's faith story.

That's quite exciting...