....as we move into Lent

Following a very moving Ash Wednesday service, we are now just a few days
into Lent – that 40-day period of preparation for Easter. Most people associate
Lent with “giving up” something. Traditionally, however, this period of
preparation has been marked by a special emphasis on prayer, self-denial,
charitable giving, self-examination, repentance, and reading and meditating
on Scripture.
In many ways, Lents simply calls us back to the basics of our Christian
discipleship; and to repentance for our fickleness and failures. But all-toooften,
making the time to “read and reflect on Scripture, pray, become more
self-aware, and then respond appropriately, seems to be an almost
impossible demand.
In order to you encourage you, allow me to share just a few of the profound
experiences retreatants had, whilst on our recent Wellbeing Retreat:
… God created the world so that everything belongs and is interconnected
and we must plan to live consciously to be in harmony
with God firstly and also with oneself, others and nature.
… an opportunity to step out of busyness into a gentle peace which
gave me time to think about myself in relationship … I rediscovered
an awareness that with God at the centre, his Spirit permeates every
aspect of my life and brings a sense of harmony, of balance, of
wholeness. It is out of this that I am able to respond to the needs I
see all around me.
… drew us close to the Spirit of God …
… intimate relationship with God, which enhances every aspect and
every second of one’s life.
All of this was the result of simply putting aside 48 hours, over one weekend,
to give ourselves to our relationship with God. We now have 40 days
stretching before us … just imagine what the Lord can do in and for and
through us, if we could just find, say, ten minutes each day - to listen, to pray
… and then look for opportunities through the day, to respond.
God bless you, this Lent.
RoRod