Mid-Shore Life

By Dwayne Eutsey

I had every intention of writing a column last week about Lent in time for it to be published here on Ash Wednesday, the day this traditional Christian observance begins.

Ironically, though, I wasn’t able to write the column because I found myself too busy juggling work deadlines, family issues, and getting sucked into the distracting time-drains on TV and the Internet.

I say ironically because the fact that I couldn’t write something about Lent because my life was too hectic and unfocused is why this time of introspection is so important for everyone, regardless of your spiritual world view.

Maybe it’s because the winter doldrums have frozen me in a monotonous combination of cold weather, cabin fever, and shoveling endless snow, but I find myself functioning on automatic pilot a lot lately…just dully going through the motions.

I’m ready to shake off the ice and sing a lively version of “Here Comes the Sun.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZtQh5EIgWQ

Apparently, that’s not far from the original meaning of “Lent.” According to the BBC, the word is derived from the old English word for “lengthen” and refers to how the days begin to lengthen during this time of year as spring approaches. The site also defines the religious Lenten observance as:

the period of 40 days which comes before Easter in the Christian calendar. Beginning on Ash Wednesday, Lent is a season of reflection and preparation before the celebrations of Easter. By observing the 40 days of Lent, Christians replicate Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and withdrawal into the desert for 40 days. Lent is marked by fasting, both from food and festivities.

For more basic information on Lent, go to the BBC religion site: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/holydays/lent_1.shtml

While not all Christian denominations observe Lent, many Catholics and Protestants emphasize the importance of a period of intentional reflection to prepare for the burgeoning new life of spring.

On this past Ash Wednesday, for example, Pope Benedict XVI in his radio address emphasized how the day initiates a time for repentance and for contemplating our mortality.  

Repentance, the Pope said, “reminds us that conversion is meant to be a deep and lasting abandonment of our sinful ways in order to enter into a living relationship with Christ, who alone offers true freedom, happiness and fulfillment.” The ashes of Ash Wednesday also remind us that, according to the Pope, we are dust and to dust we shall return. http://www.oecumene.radiovaticana.org/en1/Articolo.asp?c=357808

The United Methodist Church (UMC) also emphasizes Lent as a time for re-focusing our perspective on a reality larger than ourselves.

“It’s pretty easy to get caught up in the drama of work, school, relationships, and family,” the UMC website says. “Our lives are filled with distractions that take us away from living a life with Christ. We try to fill the emptiness inside us with mindless TV, meaningless chatter, stimulants, alcohol or other things. We run from silence because we’re afraid of being alone with God. So, like Jesus, we need to take some serious time to pray and figure out where God is in our lives, and where God is calling us to serve.”

http://www.umc.org/site/c.lwL4KnN1LtH/b.2514885/k.63E6/Lent_and_Easter_Resources.htm

Regardless of your own religious or non-religious views, I think most of us can relate to (and benefit from) this Lenten need to begin thawing our awareness and plant the spiritual seeds that will take root and sprout as the earth (and our lives) enters a phase of renewal.

We are, after all, a part of (not apart from) the natural rhythms of life. As we see the sun’s light shining a little longer each day and as patches of grass emerge from beneath the melting snow, it’s good to look inward and remember there’s more to our lives than winter’s mundane routine.

The new life beginning to stir all around us is also stirring within us. We need to tend to it so we can more fully appreciate its fragrance and beauty when it flowers in the warm spring sun.