This Lent, I’m taking some time each morning to read two books that are easily digestible in a day by day format.
One of those is “The Lives We Actually Have” by Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie. When I bought the book, I wasn’t sure how to approach it since it was a book of 100 blessings for all sorts of things that might be going on in your daily life, but I discovered there was a Lenten guide to help.
Yesterday’s blessing was “for this beautiful, limited day”, and the words towards the end of the blessing perfectly captured the prayer I’ve been saying for awhile now. They were:
“Show me what I love.
Show me what I never want to lose.
Show me what I no longer need here
in this beautiful, limited day.”
These words perfectly capture for me the discernment journey. In order to truly become the person God is calling me to be, these are the questions I must wrestle with.
I need to ask myself:
“What is it I love?” – not just who do I love, but what – what will get me jumping out of bed eager to get into the day ahead?
“What is it I don’t want to lose?” – I read this as my foundation, my guiding principles as well as aspects of my life that bring me joy and strengthen the light I have to offer.
“What do I no longer need?” – to me, this question is asking God to show me what I am gripping onto a little too tightly, what may have been once an important part of my journey but may no longer be.
These are the questions I’m bringing to prayer once again today… what about you?
What questions are you holding as we enter the first weekend in Lent?
