Naomi's Notes - 03/04/07
Last week God treated us to a foretaste of spring, a brief respite from weeks of snow and really cold weather. The blocks of ice I refer to as my hands and feet finally thawed, and I enjoyed the freedom of wearing a light jacket instead of my heavy, winter coat.
I found myself gazing out my front window towards the bank of a ditch where I planted bulbs last fall. After discovering last year--the hard way--that deer like tulips but don't bother daffodils, I planted a swath of yellow daffodil bulbs across my front yard. I don't know if I planted them correctly (as a "horticulturally-challenged" homeowner for 2 ½ years, I've relied on advice from church members and neighbors, plus trial and error), but I'm anticipating that they will bloom beautifully in a month or two. I can hardly wait.
Recently I read E. B. White's account of how his dying wife, Katherine, found strength to plant bulbs in her garden during her last autumn, fully knowing she would not be around to see them bloom in the spring. He observed that she "was a member of the resurrection conspiracy, the company of those who plant seeds of hope under dark skies of grief or oppression, going about their living and dying until, no one knows how, when or where, the tender Easter shoots appear, and a piece of creation is healed." (Robert A. Raines, The Ridgeleaf)
Last week we entered the Lenten season, 40 days - not counting Sundays, which are "little Easters" in themselves - from Ash Wednesday through Resurrection Sunday. In the Early Church, there is some evidence that Christians fasted 40 hours between Good Friday and Easter. But the Lenten custom of 40 days of prayer and self-denial was instituted later, when "the initial rush of Christian adrenaline was over and believers had gotten very ho-hum about their faith. …Lent is an invitation to springtime for the soul. Forty days to cleanse the system and open the eyes to what remains when all comfort is gone…to remember what it is like to live by the grace of God alone. …That hollowness we sometimes feel is not a sign of something gone wrong. It is the holy of holies inside of us, the uncluttered throne room of the Lord… [No pacifier] on earth can fill it." (Barbara Brown Taylor, Home by Another Way).
There is nothing obligatory about observing Lent. A person can still be a "good Christian" without it. No one has to plant bulbs in a yard, either. But for those of us who are intentional about planting resurrection bulbs--examining the cold, dark places of our hearts during Lent, letting God help our spiritual roots multiply and grow deeply, filling the holes in our lives--God's process of transformation promises glorious results!
This year is the first time I've ever served a church that embraces Lent. Our worship services, including Chuck's sermons, are focusing on Lenten topics and scriptures through Easter Sunday. What an exciting, unique opportunity for spiritual growth! I hope you'll make the most of it--it's not too late to start.
"Search me, O God, and know my heart today;
Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts, I pray.
See if there be some wicked way in me;
Cleanse me from ev'ry sin and set me free."
See you in worship this Sunday –
Naomi