Gifts of Lent: Resting from the Usual
Yesterday I had one of the most rest-full Sabbaths I can remember. We’ve begun attending church in the early evening, at the request of our pastor, to make room in the morning services for visitors. It’s a strange alteration to a lifelong habit of morning attendance. But it’s freeing up our Sunday in surprising ways.
My sister’s birthday is today so I invited her over for breakfast yesterday. I’d baked quiches on Saturday, had an assortment of muffins and mimosas to make it even more special. We then decided to watch the morning service online since Mom and I would be helping with childcare during one of the evening services. Later, I settled in to finish the last book in a fantasy series that I have really been enjoying. Soon it was time to leave for the church. There was a lovely, relaxed atmosphere throughout the day.
This interesting new routine has got me wondering what other places in my life would benefit from a change. Are there areas that I am unwilling to alter just because it’s the way I’ve always done things? Perhaps we can practice resting from our usual practices to make room for something surprising.
When Jesus sat down across from Nicodemus, He compared the Holy Spirit to the wind which cannot be seen and is only experienced by its effect on other things. (John 3:8) He was communicating a new way to think in areas where Nic thought he was an expert. He was a respected “teacher of Israel” and yet was struggling to grasp what Jesus was saying because it didn’t fit in the box he had built for God’s kingdom and the hoped-for Messiah.
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (Proverbs 14:12 &16:25) Let’s use this season of rest to reflect on places in our lives where we’ve been operating on autopilot; where perhaps God is calling us to yield to His surprising way of doing things.
“’For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord.”
