day 1 - beginning the journey.

This year for the season of lent my goal is to reflect on my blog, and to pray with at least one person each day. On Wednesday, this first day of Lent, I had the opportunity to pray one-on-one with my Senior Pastor and later in the day I prayed with one of the amazing young adults at my church (Rachel Lambros). Both of these prayer times reminded me of the intimacy and power of sitting with another person and lifting up a few small words to God. For me it is one of the deepest forms of communion.

As I begin Lent, I feel excited for an opportunity to intentionally make space in my life for God to speak and move. I'm hoping that by carving out time and space for prayer and reflection, I will be more aware of the Divine call that is whispering beauty and hope all around us.

A few days ago, one of my professors shared a story about her daughter that I think describes the power and purpose of lent perfectly. My professor comes from a UCC background and didn't raise her daughter in a very liturgically oriented church, so as a young girl of 8 or 9, her daughter didn't have any familiarity with lent. Around that time she visited a different church with a friend where she learned for the first time about Lent. She was enthralled with this new idea. Ash Wednesday that year fell just a few days before the little girl's birthday. Early on that Wednesday morning, she jumped on her parents bed, giggling and shouting, "It's here! It's finally here!" Her mom, with eyes barely open, sleepily said, "No, honey, your birthday is still 2 days away. It's not here yet." But the little girl smiled radiantly, and answered, "No, Mom, not my birthday. Today is Ash Wednesday! Starting today we have 40 days to do good things for God."

So, starting today, we have 40 days to do good things for God. What could be more exciting than that?