This is Ash Wednesday, 2014.
It wasn’t a special day or season as I was growing up in my particular Christian faith tradition, but with the new connections and resources I found through graduate school and the kindred spirits I found on the internet over the last ten years, I have been able to tap in and reconnect with this very ancient, rich, and reflective seasonal observance, each year.
This time of year, and especially during this particularly harsh winter, we can feel isolated, burned out, discouraged, troubled, or restless. It’s not just a state of mind, it’s a spiritual thirst.
Lent is a whole season that specifically helps us work through the darker, profound things that reside in the deepest recesses of our hearts, and prepare us for Spring (in every sense of the word).
This year, my husband and I are using a YouVersion Bible App reading plan called Lent for Everyone which includes a daily commentary by N.T. (Tom) Wright. Each day, the Lenten scripture reading and commentary brings the season into a richer light.
(Click to see all the Lenten plans.)
Why not do a reading plan this season?
Here’s another resources you might like.
It’s from Ruth Haley Barton’s Transforming Center.
(Click it to read the whole thing.)
“‘And yet even now,’ says the Lord, ‘return to me with all your heart . . .’” —Joel 2:12