I posted the following on Facebook yesterday. I was feeling all introspective and just started rambling. Against my better judgment I finally hit "post."
As with many of these posts I will likely delete it or change the audience to "only me" at some point... so I thought I would preserve it here just in case.
I hate when I post something that seems to make great sense to me. You know, like the drunk who thinks he's come up with a great idea! It never fails that when I read it an hour later I am like, "What in the world was I thinking?!" Or else it ends up reading to others the exact opposite of what I intended. I always know that if people I never agree with on Facebook start to like a post of mine, I have mis-communicated.
Anyway... a day in the life. And the main point being, "I almost forgot this is the Christian season of Lent...":
[transparency alert, and long post]
What a week, huh? A month ago I asked for this week off, partly because we have to do so that far in advance where I work, but mostly because I’ve been putting off taking a “mental health” holiday where I stay home and away from people in an attempt to preserve what's left of my sanity. I barely made it. Little did I know it was going to coincide with the shutting down of normal society on a grand scale.
And I have to admit, when the closings first started coming in, I was ready to go all vigilante regarding us peons who work low-paying jobs and receive no paid vacation or sick leave, many of whom could actually LOSE their job if they fail to show up for work after so long. I mean, my employer said if we were sick, we were to stay home from work for 2 weeks... with NO COMPENSATION! Do you know how much of a dent a 2-week absence of pay can make in the lives of peons who are already scraping to get by?!
Although, now, in true mood-mania, I am hoping my employer will actually close our facilities! I mean, the YMCA is great… a great place for people to be flinging body fluids around in close proximity to one another!!
Anyway… I am mostly feeling thankful at the moment. I know… I can be irrational like that. But whether I have to/get to go to work or not, whether I am paid or not, whether I am sick or not… shoot, we could ALL die (oh wait, we WILL all die)… these are not the things I place my hope in nor find contentment from. I almost forgot this is the Christian season of Lent…
Lent is a religious observance that recalls the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness, immediately before he began his public ministry. He spent his time there praying and fasting, but it was also for him a place of overcoming temptation. There is a long tradition in scripture of seeing the wilderness as a place to meet God, away from the distractions of everyday life. In this retreat you are invited to find a place, a time, when you can free yourself from distractions, meet God, and rest in his presence.
Oh my… how timely is that? It’s almost like it’s a… coincidence…
So, here I sit (still in my pajamas, btw). I have had two phrases come to mind: First, the words of Jesus, angels, and God himself as recorded in the Christian Scriptures, “Fear not." Second, some sappy Snow Patrol song with this line, “I need your grace to remind me to find my own."
… Friends, I pray we can resist the temptation to criticize one another and point fingers (yes, you can call this pot a kettle). I pray we can forego the guilt-trip tripe of “stop over-reacting” or “just relax” (I’ve been freaking out a little). I pray most of all we can find in ourselves – free from distractions – who we really are, and Whose we really are. And, if you are so given, to be able to rest in His presence (I mean ‘God’ but I know not everyone wants to hear that, so insert your own… whatever). Also... I may need to lean on your grace from time to time, as hopefully you can lean on what little bit I have.
May this be a Lent to remember. To really remember what Lent is all about. I’m not sure what else to do… or say.
Peace out; and in
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