It is Ash Wednesday today and the start of the Lenten season.And this season is going to be packed full of challenges, I can tell already.
Lent is a time to quietly reflect on life and where you want to go, from where you are coming and what you want to be. It is a time of reflection and discipline. This year I am giving up soft drinks, which is actually harder to give up than chocolate. I’ve never given up coffee, for the safety of all those around me.
What do you do when it’s Lent and you are over your head in everything about life? I don’t know for sure. Lent is a time to simplify, but what happens when life is complicated in the 40 days before Easter? Maybe that is when we need our faith and discipline the most.
While talking to a wise man about the struggles of work, he said something that really struck me: In life, you have to be disciplined enough to not let you emotions rule what you do. You stay focused, show up and do the work you need to do.
Oh, but that can be so hard. Because we are human, because we are busy, because we do have bad days, and stress and emotions. Because we have hearts and souls that are imbalanced and beautifully, wonderfully imperfect.
But that doesn’t mean that we can’t try, every day, to be better, do better feel better.
This year I am working on so many things, to read more about Grace, daily, to exercise, keep the house clean, writer more (have about 5 blogs I have been meaning to write), work harder, take time for me, relax, water the plants before they shrivel into brown sticks with no leaves…
And maybe one day I will get there. Until then, I am imperfect in my flaws of over being overwhelmed by everything on the to-do list. Amazed at the little miracles I see every day, constantly curious about how it is all going to work out, and humbly hopeful about the outcomes.
I strive for Grace on a daily basis and failed miserably today. An aggravating day exasperated by lack of sleep due to no heat last night, I huffed and puffed, cursed under my breath, yelled out some curse words even, jumped in frustration, and cried in exhaustion.
And yet here we are in Lent. So here we go, committing to do the best we can, tomorrow.
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