something's gotta give

I've been thinking about the whole "giving up for Lent" thing. Visiting and participating in the revgals blog has been such a gift, and most days I am rewarded by someone's insight, self-reflection or humor in such a way that I can feel my own spiritual life blooming within me. The movement of that growth is now pushing up against old debris and rotting resistance, and the sacrificial discipline of Lent is calling to me.

Yesterday I visited the site of an ordained writer/artist named Jan, and felt a door opening within me. I have a deep yearning to engage my creative side, and on most days I deny the yearning, believing that my time and efforts will bear no fruit. For Lent, I plan to give up listening to the voice that convinces me of that falsehood. This will not be easy, but discipline rarely is.

To facilitate this sacrifice I need to make space, literally and figuratively, so that creativity has a place to flow. I plan to read to open the road of my imagination, and finish some projects to "get me in the groove." From there I won't plan, but will pray to be led.

One Lent, many years ago, I made a stole for that season using a traditional quilting pattern. I love that stole. It is my favorite among the ones I own. It is simple, beautiful, and reminds me of that particular period in my life when God worked through a painful time to bring healing and new life. And the gift of a stole.

Already I feel the breath of the Spirit at work, along with the peace that comes with setting one's sites in a given direction. Now I feel better equipped to walk with Jesus the road to Jerusalem, and to experience the season from within more than from without.