Three Best Things of Lent

Holy Saturday and the light of Easter is just gleaming on the horizon. But this day of waiting is giving me a moment to look back over Lent.

Six weeks ago, I really needed Lent. I needed simplicity; to pull myself back from over stimulation; to do a whole lot more listening. Social media detox has been the most amazing blessing. I find myself seeing, listening, reading a whole lot more, and in moments of emptiness we all aim to escape from, reaching out to him.

Having said all this, Lent and I are just about done! I am longing for the Resurrection, for new life. But, despite being ready to bid farewell to Lent, I can see how God has used it for me.

#1 What I’ve Learnt from Running

When I came home from running the DR19 conference in February, I had a crazy light-headed moment probably triggered by exhaustion, and the next day signed up to do a 10k run at the end of May. Yup, not sure what happened there. And now, somehow, this run is actually happening! Wooo! Let me say – I am the world’s least natural runner. Training so far has included classily throwing up in a bin (and a bit further on, some bushes) when I pushed myself a bit too hard one morning; running into a field of bulls on a run I did through a nature reserve by the coast; avoiding the deer in Bushey Park, along with the normal coping with blisters, weather, pacing… Training during Lent has given it a deeper, penitential quality. Over the last six weeks, I’ve learnt so much about tenacity: there are moments I’ve found it tough, moments when I felt like I wasn’t making any progress, and my Strava account was pretty depressing viewing. But I’ve learnt something clear about these simple truths: Keep going. Don’t give up. You’ll get there. And most excitingly, I’m going to raise money for this incredible festival – my dream would be to raise enough money to cover the places of 20 young people who can’t afford it.

#2 Lila

I am a pretty fussy fiction reader. I don’t normally start reading a book unless I’m pretty sure I’m going to love it. When I saw that Marilynne Robinson had published the third book in a trilogy sent in a small American town, Gilead, I knew I had to read it because I’m a big fan of both Gilead and Home. What I wasn’t prepared for was just how deeply I’d be drawn into the story and how profoundly it would touch me. I’m not sure if Robinson has meant it this way (I wouldn’t be surprised as the book is full of Christian themes), but I’ve read the whole book as a beautiful allegory of the Father’s love, of redemption, and of sanctification. It tells the story of Lila, an orphan child neglected and brought up in homeless poverty, encountering love through the character of John Ames, a preacher, and learning how to trust and allow herself be loved. There is much in my own heart that is “Lila”, learning to allow the Father to love me, and this book has been an extraordinary gift this Lent.

#3 Vulnerability and Friendship

I’ve mentioned them before, but these podcasts have kept me going from week to week in Lent. In fact, they are the only thing I listen to while running, so yup, I am listening to them three times a week and working my way through all the old episodes. So Sister Miriam, Michelle Benzinger and Heather Khym have been deeply embedded fixtures in my Lent. All the women I know who listen to these podcasts love above all their realness and vulnerability. They display the quality of relationship that all of us long for. This Lent, I’ve been even more appreciative of the relationships I have and teams I am working in where we are real and vulnerable with each other in this way. A couple of moments have stood out for me when I’ve thought, wow, what a blessing to be a part of this. Our unredeemed selves are afraid, wanting to keep others at arm’s length, to not reveal our brokenness, or admit to our failures. If you experience being in a team or community or ministry where you are seen, known and loved, praise the Lord. It is the biggest – and in my experience, most rare – gift. And I’m learning it is only good leadership that creates environments where it is safe and expected to be real, honest, vulnerable. How much we need this kind of leadership!

Transformed in Christ