Some Thoughts

I am going to be preaching at Westminster on March 1, which also happens to be the first Sunday of Lent, so I’ve been thinking a bit about Lent lately.  My first thought was, “What am I going to give up for Lent this year?” which is strange, because I rarely give up anything for Lent.  (One year, I did think about giving up chocolate, but then, a few days into Lent, I went out for my birthday dinner and the waitress brought me a complimentary chocolate mousse.  I certainly didn’t want to hurt her feelings by not eating her gift to me!)

I’ve never been a part of a church that has stressed this aspect of Lent, so it has never been important to me.  I find it funny, though, that giving up something is still what pops into my mind first with the topic of Lent.  It just goes to show how ingrained that idea is in our religious culture.

My goal this year, however, is to refocus my thoughts about Lent.  The past couple of years, I really haven’t done anything noteworthy.  I work at a church that doesn’t even have an Ash Wednesday service, so, needless to say, Lent is not a big focus around here.  This year I am feeling a desire to do something special in my walk with God to commemorate the season of Lent.  I’m just not sure yet what it will be.  I’ve considered trying to make blogging a spiritual practice, and do it daily.  I’m just not sure I have that much interesting to say.  Then I thought about, instead of giving up chocolate, being sure to eat chocolate daily.  But I pretty much do that anyway.  I’ve also considered trying a specific type of meditation daily, such as Lectio Devina – which is currently the leading idea.

I’ve been feeling lately that life is too often getting in the way of my time spent with God.  Sure, I work at a church, but my focus tends to be on planning lessons, connecting with the kids, rehearsing music, etc., rather than my own relationship with God.  I have not been doing a very good job of practicing what I preach!

How about you?  Has life been getting in the way of your relationship with God?  If so, I invite you to give yourself a gift this Lenten season and do something to reconnect with the divine.  Perhaps you will choose to give up something.  Just because that isn’t my cup of tea doesn’t mean it’s not a great idea for you.  Or perhaps you might also try a daily meditation practice.  Or something else . . . whatever it may be, may this upcoming season of Lent be a meaningful one for you.

My maternal grandfather died last Saturday morning.  For most of my life, Grandpa Ben lived in Arizona, so I did not see him very often.  This past year, however, he has been living near my parents in Sebastopol, so I was lucky enough to see him much more frequently.

A visit with my intensely private, very quiet grandpa never lasted very long.  I would drop in, we would catch up for a little while, and then after about 5 minutes (10 if he was feeling especially chatty), he would inevitably say something like, “Well, thanks for stopping by.”  I took that to be my cue to leave.  Not being a super chatty person myself, that did not bother me at all.  It was enough time for me to update him on my life, and for him to share something sarcastic about world events – what more do you need!

There was one person, however, who would keep my grandpa’s attention for hours – his great-grandson (my son) Ben.  (Yes, they do share the same name!)  Whenever Ben was in the room, my grandpa was completely transfixed by him.  I do believe that if a herd of buffalo came stampeding through the room, grandpa wouldn’t even notice them if Ben was also there.  I’m pretty sure that nothing, other than his own children, brought grandpa as much joy as Ben.  The neat thing was that Ben did not have to be doing anything special for grandpa to find him absolutely enthralling.  Ben could read a book, play with a toy, even sit and watch tv – and it didn’t matter.  Grandpa loved simply being in Ben’s presence.  One of my lasting memories will be of the huge smile that appeared on grandpa’s face whenever Ben walked in the room.

One of the things about grandpa’s death that brings me the most sadness is that Ben, who is only 21 months old, will probably have no memories of his great-grandpa.  He will know, however, about the unconditional love he received from his great-grandpa, because we will tell him over and over again!  

Whenever I saw grandpa Ben and baby Ben together, I couldn’t help but think that they were a great human example of how God loves each of us.  It doesn’t matter what we do – read a book, play with a toy, even sit and watch tv – God loves us simply because we are God’s children, created in God’s image.  How wonderful it is to be loved so unconditionally.  May we remind each other of that love over and over again!

Great grandpa meets Ben for the first time - Jan. 2008

The Bens having fun together - Summer, 2008