One of the hardest things to do is to see yourself clearly. The Apostle Paul says “Now we see in a mirror darkly”, and only by approaching Christ and the Kingdom of God will we be able to gain better vision. Seeing ourselves honestly and recognizing the good and bad inside ourselves is not for the faint of heart. I am reminded of the James Baldwin quote “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
Facing ourselves is only half the battle. We then need to take action for change. For example, when I embarked on a new health plan for my diet, the first step was to track what I was already eating so that I could have a good assessment. It was eye-opening to realize how often a little something here and a little something there added up to lots of food! But once I knew, I then needed to find ways to motivate and encourage myself to make better choices each day.
So it is with our lives and journey with God. It is easy to get caught up in our day-to-day routine without realizing that we are not paying as much attention to developing our relationship with God and neighbor as we might desire. And the consequences can be far reaching! Not only will we lose out on living our best life, but we also will not be engaging in the work of advocacy and justice that can benefit people around us. For we are called to be people who love God and love our neighbors as ourselves.
Which brings us to Lent. Lent is a season of preparation, 40 days (not including Sundays) before Easter. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday (February 17). It traditionally is a time for introspection and examination of our lives and habits in order to grow in our relationship with God (which involves relationships to our neighbors). Many times you hear of people giving something up or taking something on in order to facilitate and be mindful of their journey with God.
This year, I encourage you to take some time to be intentional. How do you hope to grow in your journey with God and your neighbor? What practice or habit will help? At Asbury we will be studying the book “Love Is the Way” by Michael Curry. We will meet (by Zoom currently) on Thursdays at 11:00 am starting February 18. Email the church at asburyumcduluth@hotmail.com in order to be put on an email reminder list and get the link to the Zoom meeting.
No matter what you decide to do, I hope this year we all will look not only at our devotion to God, but also our commitment to loving our neighbors. May you find many blessings in this journey.
Blessings and Peace,
Katherine