Reflections for Lent

How do I personally deal with temptation? That was the challenge given to me at the Ash Wednesday Service of the First United Methodist Church, Rev. Steve Strange, and God. So I left the sanctuary to begin a journey with Jesus to the holiest of holy places that I can reach at this point in my life. This Lent was different from the last 5. I attended it alone. Oh, I was with a whole row of my dearest friends....but last year, my husband Frank and I attended service together, we sat there different needs, different areas of growth, different levels of insight and understanding. Yet, as different as our needs were....they were on the same path way....we just did not know it at the time. So much has happened since Ash Wednesday 2007, all of it has been in preparation for what the Lord has going on in our lives right now.
This year, 2008, I am wanting victories. I want a victory over weight and body image. I want to be a temple extraordinaire. I want a victory for my dear husband. I want so much for him to succeed at college. I want him to achieve the feeling a diploma can give you. This can only happen if we both continue to follow God's will....for us both. What a year....we have begun a walk down the path of ministry that I never dreamed would have been....proof that God has plans for us all....we just have to listen and believe....and understand that God has a major sense of humor. To gain victory this year I know that my path will lead through the cross, into the tomb, and out where God's light and love will provide for me physical healing and new life image. I know this in my heart....my head just gets in the way sometimes. And here it is Lent again...did I waste another year? Or was it another year utilized to its fullest. It is that time....after the ashes have faded from my face....that I begin to think seriously during Lent on the sacrifices I am going to make and to begin my journey with Jesus, all the way to the cross and through the resurrection. I am reminded of the song...."Your Love is Extravagent" by Casting Crowns. I can have such an intimate friendship with this man I call my heavenly Father....as I find myself embracing my own crosses. This leads to a new year....a new attitude....a new me....and a new me is what I truly am seeking. In 40+ days we will celebrate Easter and we need to remind ourselves that this season is so much more than just a holiday of pretty eggs, chocolate bunnies and family reunions. Lent is so much more than just 40 days of enduring my personal sacrifice for the year.....eating no french fries. (For those of you who know me....that is a major deal. I love french fries....actually....I love ketchup....french fries just enhance it with the taste of salt.)....but excuse me for digressing here. To experience the complete element of Easter and Lent....I must experience the full power of resurrection, I have to experience the power of mourning and repenting from all of my sinful ways. I have to experience the powerlessness of death - the death of my selfishness, the death of my worldliness, the death of my behaviors that are not Christ-like. Spring is on its way....and I am feeling a daffodil....pushing against the ground....reaching for the sky.....that daffodil is me. This year....I believe I will bloom!