Ash Thursday

(from the book...)

"Besides ashes, Lent could also begin with a sign usually reserved for Valentines Day- a red heart- painted on your forehead. This heart sign could be a reminder that these forty days are to be spent as a honeymoon."
...a honeymoon is a time to escape from daily life. We can see throughout the New Testament that Jesus frequently escaped from daily life to be alone in prayer...and we are called as Christians to do the same in our own lives. While most of us are not able to literally "escape" our daily life, we can make it a habit to take time to spend time in prayer...and not just practical prayers, but also devotional prayers that speak of our love of God. When Lent is seen as a honeymoon it truly parallels Mark 12:30-31 "You shall love the Lord you God with all your heart, soul, mind and body and your neighbor as yourself."


This reading reminded me of an assignment I had in college while working towards my youth ministry minor. While studying the spiritual disciplines, one of the assignments was to spend a day in solitude. If you have never done this, then you truly have NO idea how hard that is to accomplish. First of all, we have so many little things crammed into our days that it is almost impossible to truly just get away from it all and be able to focus on God and Him alone. Secondly...24 hours talking to no one? OK- maybe that is easy for some- but for me- who can be a very social person- that thought frightened me.
Although I didn't technically complete my assignment as I was interrupted numerous times, I did take a lot away from that time. I spent most of it in my home church's sanctuary. What an odd feeling to sit in a place of worship and be all alone. For the first few hours I think I dozed off here and there, listened to the creaks of an old building, listened to my disc man (Nope- no ipods back then ;) ) and lazily tried to pass the time away. After I got bored with that I started looking through the hymnal and softly singing songs to myself and actually focusing on the words. That led me into looking up Scriptures and then to journaling and so forth... and before I knew it quite a few hours had passed by. It was amazing what I gained from taking the time to just sit and be still. Still to this day this verse stands out, "Be still and know I am God"

Most of us probably know and believe the second half, but how often do we really focus on the first half, how often do we take the time to be "still"? Probably not often. Stillness is not a virtue in our lifestyles...everything is "go go go" and "stillness" is seen as laziness and laziness is highly looked down upon. But oh what we can learn if we only take the time to be still and just sit in the presence of our God.

While that time of stillness still stands out in my mind, I am embarrassed to say that I don't think I have really attempted it again in my life. Today's reading though has prompted the urge in me to once again "Be still" and just sit and revel in the Love of God. I want to go on a honeymoon with Him and just begin to rediscover all that His word holds for me. While I can't devote a day at this point in my life...I can take time out to sit and be still. Whether it be fifteen minutes or a half hour daily... I can at least do that and plan to make it more than just a one time thing this time around. I am excited to see what God will reveal to me in those quiet times and look forward to this journey with Him.