Lent, more than most things, is about existing in the pain of the world, not rushing past it toward spiritual toxic positivity. It’s a season not for answers but for ancient questions—of death, grief, expectation, hunger, fear, mortality. In Lent, we are reminded of our humanity in all its frailty and beauty, and as we approach one another we bear witness to both, refusing to look away. Together, we write in ash. ~ Cole Arthur Riley
In the midst of all that our lives entail: the grime, the muck, the brokenness, the beauty and the gifts, our Divine Companion reaches down into the depth of our heart soil with great love and grace. This powerful love is the ultimate goal of human existence; a love that is deep and wide and boundless. In the enriched soil there is possibility for growth and change. Our Divine Companion's desire for our Lenten journey is to lighten our load, make us stronger, renew and replenish us so that we may flourish.
Lest we think
the blessing
is not
in the dirt.
Lest we think
the blessing
is not
in the earth
beneath our feet.
Lest we think
the blessing
is not
in the dust,
like the dust
that God scooped up
at the beginning
and formed
with God's hands
and breathed into
with God's own
breath.
Lest we think
the blessing
is not in the spit.
Lest we think
the blessing
is not
the mud.
Lest we think
the blessing is not
in the mire,
the grime,
the muck.
Lest we think
God cannot reach
deep into the things
of earth,
cannot bring forth
the blessing
that shimmers
within the sludge,
cannot anoint us
with a tender
and grimy grace.
Lest we think
God will not use
the ground
to give us
life again,
to cleanse us
of our unseeing,
to open our eyes upon
this ordinary
and stunning world.
~Jan Richardson
Song: Beautiful Things, Gungor
Prayer:
Divine Companion,
Pour your abounding love and grace into my heart.
Breath on me Breath of Life.
Renew and replenish me.
Open my eyes to see new possibilities.
Make my inner garden bloom and grow.
Amen
Resources:
Richardson, J. (2015). Circle of Grace. Orlando, FL: Wanton Gospeller Press.
Riley, C. Letters in Ash: Lent with Black Liturgies
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