Pineridge Blog
Lent, the season in the church year of 40 days (plus Sundays), which began Ash Wednesday (March 2nd) and continues to Easter (April 17th). It mirrors the time of Jesus fasting, praying and figuring out what it meant to be Jesus in the 40 days he spent in the wilderness before he began his ministry.
Through these blogs I want to invite you to consider some non-traditional practices in the coming weeks of Lent as we prepare for Easter.
Our continuing practice for Lent will be Music and Meditation again prior to this Sunday service. In addition to that I invite you to consider adding a discipline of Gratitude, which is giving thanks in all things.
Jayne Davis wrote, “It is easy to get caught in the spin cycle of the chaos that surrounds us, to grow weary and frustrated and overwhelmed in a time when so much feels out of control. Gratitude is a spiritual practice that helps us to take a step back, to maintain perspective that there is much good amid the challenges, and to remind ourselves of the many ways that God is present and providing for us…. An intentional practice of giving thanks shapes the lens through which we see the world — a world of abundance or scarcity, a world of threat or of promise.”
I keep three little rocks by my bathroom sink. They are very special rocks. My granddaughter, Ellie!, who is officially two and a half as of March 12th, gave them to me. As she picked them up from a playground she said, “These are treasures, Pops!” I put them in my pocket and honestly forgot them until I was emptying my pockets that evening as I was getting ready for bed. Rather than throwing them back out in the yard, as I was first tempted to do, I put them by my sink so I would notice them every morning and night and be grateful for the treasures of the Earth, great and small. To be grateful for the treasures of my family and my life both magnificent and especially those that go almost unnoticed. And of course, for the treasure of Ellie! who is both great and small.
May you know God's grace, mercy and strength as you consider what you are grateful for in the coming Lenten days.