Pathway into Lent

            In less than two weeks we will enter Holy Week.  Time has flown by this Lent.  And, taking a lesson from “time,” I am no longer in Des Moines, Iowa, but have flown all the way to North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to spend the remaining Lenten season, and to celebrate Easter, with my sister. 

           As I prepared for the trip, making notes, packing, finding a ride to the airport, and other such things, my thoughts were wandering around in our childhood.  Very little sadness darkened our doorway, and for that we count ourselves blessed to have experienced an uneventful and joyful time growing up. 

          The day before my departure, it seemed I could not keep my ducks in a row, at all.  If I wasn’t searching for my glasses, I was looking for my phone.  Excitement had taken a turn.  It was not until the suitcase was packed, sitting open on the floor, with a few things scattered around it, that I realized it was me creating the nervous jitters.  After a bit of protesting, I sat down to be quiet.  And in the stillness, a new feeling slipped in where once chaos had been.  It was a calm sensation, sweeping over my body, into my mind.  The realization was straightforward, and the message was clear.  I had almost allowed excitement to turn to anxiety, without recognizing what I was doing.  I was not moving about in a mindful way.  I was not present with each movement.  My vessel floundered, but now it would be righted.  From that moment on I paid attention to what I was doing, and purposefully slowed my pace.  I took notice of my arms reaching, my legs walking, my back getting into the action by closing and lifting the suitcase.  My question to myself was, “Why did I let this happen?”  The answer came, quickly, in a matter of fact message.  I was not in the present, as I gathered.  I was projecting myself into a negative future, with all the, “What if I forget this?”  “What if I miss my connection?”  I had “what ifed” myself into a state of worry, when it was not necessary at all. 

           I believe we allow this to happen, from time to time, because we do not practice being in the present.  We move from one thing to another, without being mindful, aware of what we are doing.  We do not think about our feet, or arms, or reaching, or lifting, in a way that honors our body’s contribution to what is happening.  We certainly do not listen for the sounds of the movement, such as the sound of items slipping into little plastic bags, or the sound made when we fold a shirt, or the different sounds our feet make as we move from room to room.  We feel off balance because what we are doing has no balance.  Instead, it is filled with hurry, and worry.  You might not have experienced this.  But, if you do find the energy around you changing from excitement into anxiety, stop.  Be still.  Check to make sure you are doing what you are doing in balance.  Sure, you need to think about what you will pack, or where you will go, or what you are doing.  But there is no need to worry over it.  Slow your pace.  Let your rhythm become a dance, slowly moving from one thing to another, until it is accomplished, and you are packed, ready for a new adventure.  This new adventure has led me back to my home state of South Carolina, where we will watch the rising of the sun, over the Atlantic Ocean, on Easter morning, and sing in celebration.

           Thank you for sharing this time with me.  There are not that many days left in the Lenten season, so let’s keep them in balance, free from worry or concern of any kind.     

          The reading I have chosen today is from Matthew 6:25-27

The Reading

March 19, 2024

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”  Matthew 6:25-27