Lent’s first week’s worth of instagram posts at #lenttogether #47daysoflent. For those of you not-so instagram inclined, it’s kinda sorta like a very tiny mini blog post per day. The captions below correspond to the photos in the gallery above, beginning at top left and going clockwise.
Day 1. Today begins the black-and-blue season of Lent: the season of commemorating Christ’s death by putting to death a bit of our own selfish desires, the season of making space in our otherwise full lives to give attention to God. Just think: What might God do in us if he had a bit more of our attention? What will you squeeze out of your life for the time being in order to make that space? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Day 2. Speaking of black-and-blue: My poor, baby 2.5 year old. In his words, “I was running with my hands in my pockets and I fell like [acts it out] on Grandpa & Nana’s driveway.” It is a deep, dark purple. Ugly. It doesn’t hurt him any longer but it is a ghastly reminder: of the unpleasantness of a fall, of the happy providence that he did not do any permanent damage to his teeth, face or anything else.
Day 3. I have a friend who teases me for talking about pain/suffering so much –as the Way of Jesus, as the reality of our still-being-saved world, as a dire blind spot for many of our churches, etc. I always tell her 1. Jesus was a man of sorrows and 2. she’s exaggerating. Then, I went to visit her recently and these were two of the books in my book bag. (The second title is difficult to read, a cover design mishap. It is “Gateway to Hope: An Exploration of Failure.”) So: ?.
Day 4. Exactly how one’s knees and shoes should look after a full day of Rest & Play.
Day 5. Spent a good chunk of the day working on talks for @cruewu next weekend. My soul feels full. Excited to be with them.
Day 6. This is my Lenten resolution. For me, “giving up” perfectionism feels utterly impossible: more difficult than chocolate or coffee or sugar. And this week has been chock FULL of opportunities to practice giving up my perfectionistic tendencies… {moan} with much failure and tiny bits of success here and there. For now, I’m still just trying to discern what this might look like!
Day 7. It snowed some today. So much more winter than is usual for us. BUT it’s got me feeling grateful to know that someday spring will definitely come. It’s got me feeling contented to know that the wet and dead and frigid of today will not be the story several months from now.