Reflection is the Beauty of Lent
By John C. Preiss
Sunday is usually a restful day in our home when we just take it easy and reflect on the past week. Lent seems to set us in a reflective perspective. It brings out that inner heart that hides beneath the trials of the daily chores, especially the daily ups and downs of family life. God has called us to live in our vocations and to live them out to the fullest. I have noticed in the past five years, that when I started to take lent more seriously things become more complicated. This observation made me realize that during lent nothing is impossible. I can remember the first day of lent about four years ago. I recall backing out of my driveway and hitting my own mailbox. Oh, yes that wasn’t good. I might have said a choice word on that one. I really liked that truck and the dent was obvious and the truck became less important. Maybe Our Lord was trying to show me that the truck isn’t important or I should not have put the mailbox in that location. Well, I never repaired the dented truck but I did move the mailbox to the other side of the driveway. I just put my hands up in the air and said, “ that’s lent for you”. I’m learning more each day that God allows things to happen for a reason. I know, some of those things are hard to swallow, yet it enables us to grow daily in our dependence upon Him. I’m grateful for learning these things and growing to accept mishaps like running over my own mailbox. It is a powerful thing to feel as though you are on the same page as God when it comes to our lives. This helps to remove many of those decisions that didn’t turn out so well. Perfect little learning lessons that we can apply to our lives and share with our children.
Lent can really be beautiful. It is not strictly adhering to our own restrictions but the effort that God can see us making. Are we going to do all the things that we planned to do on our Lenten journey? Probably not, God will reward us on our effort and sincerity.
Today, I listened to several songs with my family. Some made me reflect on situations in my life or people that I loved who has passed on to heaven. Lent is like a song it is a time to reflect on where we are in our spiritual lives. Don’t let this opportunity slow you down, reflect and do better. God loves us and wants us to be as happy as we can in this life. It is time to really step up this Lent and offer up our sufferings and sacrifices. You can really make a difference. We have so many crazy things happening we must not despair, you were born for this time. You are called to be holy and Lent is a perfect way to start in this journey. Reflect on your life. Ask yourself, “What does God want me to do and how can I help others to know Him?” Accept and embrace your journey and your lent will not be full of problems. It
will be a beautiful reflection on your journey to be united with Our Lord on the cross. Once you accept, Heaven is yours!