After seeing the news I went into my prayer room to continue my Lent Discipline (see below for details). I opened my “What’s Next God?” Lent devotional, and today’s reading is about... earthquakes.
Yikes. Really.
The devotional asks us to answer the question “What has shaken your world recently both literally and figuratively?”
If we’re being really honest, each of us can come up with a few things that have shaken our worlds. Whether small or big, they are our own life-shaking earthquakes that split our plans in two, leaving a giant gap in the middle for us to forge through. Whether a relationship split, a recent death in the family, job loss, or change in health, change can be scary. It can feel like the earth below you that was once sturdy and safe become shaken and torn apart. And those are just the big earthquakes. After the dust has settled, aftershocks of smaller magnitude can leave us just as frazzled and fearful.
How do we do this journey of life without bracing ourselves at every turn? How do we really rely on God to “rescue us from the earthquakes” (Psalm 60:5)? And what does rescue look like? I think rescue comes when we let go. We’ve all heard that phrase but what does it really mean? How do we let go without losing perspective or being charged with lack of responsibility? Letting go means we sacrifice something, mostly our control, our plans, our way of getting out of the rubble.
Lent = letting go.
I think Lent is about that letting go. It’s about the process of being rescued so that we may take others on the same journey. I think Lent is about the journey. A journey back to remembering Jesus and his sacrifice. A journey back to putting God at the center of our lives that we’ve spent the last year planning and putting order to. Lent is a time to allow the cracks and earthquakes in and to let God shake things up in our lives, so that He can put them back together in a way that fits.
We’ve tried so hard to fill in the cracks, to rebuild something that only God can do. It’s only fitting that today that while we pray for Japan we also pray that God will come and enter into our lives and rescue us from the earthquakes within.
May we let go so that God can come and do the rescuing.
**Lent Discipline:
For Lent I have given up time doing meaningless things and adding time with God. I’m spending time in my new prayer room. I just moved into my new apartment and I have a spare bedroom. I have set up several stations... and one of them is my desk with 48 Sharpies (yes, I’m a Sharpie Princess). Anyway, my discipline begins by reading a devotional that our AYhigh students are reading. It’s called “What’s Next, God?” (you can pick up a copy at the church for free!) I read and then I open my Bible to the scripture passages that the devotional references. After I read, I draw. Here are my first three drawings, one for each day of Lent so far. Don’t make fun of my poor art skills, however. I’m going to blog about my drawings soon, but I’m waiting to see what else comes up.
And because I love music...
My Lent Soundtrack: (so far)
“O Great Love” by Robbie Seay Band
“Shadows” by David Crowder Band
“Love is Here” by Tenth Avenue North
“Banner of Love” by Luminate
“Manifesto” by The City Harmonic
“Sometimes” by David Crowder Band
“All Things” by Aaron Gillespie
“Land or Sea” by Sleeping at Last
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