It’s that time of (the church) year again – Lent. This is my favorite church season. This is when I truly feel the depth and magnitude of the gift of grace. This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday and I am looking forward to a dirty smudge of ashes on my forehead. It is a palpable reminder of my insignificance and my importance.
This year, as I’ve done in the past, I will be writing each day during Lent. This year, however, I will focus on the WORST part of each day. I will share the embarrassing, frustrating, fearful, maddening, disappointing, failing, shameful, ugly parts of my day with all of you. I will do my best to be brutally honest and respectfully vague as I bear my pain to you. My hope is that by recounting the negative parts of my day, I will somehow find a lesson in the darkness to lead me to place of light. I’m hoping that, at least once, I discover that I overcame the darkness immediately and “turned the other cheek.” The other times, maybe I can learn a better way for the next situation. At the end of this part of my journey, I hope to be a little more understanding, loving, accepting and forgiving.
I welcome your friendship and criticism in this journey. I hope we can engage in helpful discussion as we journey together. To those with whom I engage most often through the many great organization I am a part of – please forgive the frankness of my sharing if it involves you. And….please don’t assume I am talking about you. I encounter many people in many places every day, and (believe it or not) there are many parallels I have found in these different areas. We all come out of every encounter in a different way. We hear things differently, we see things differently, we remember things differently. All I can write about or feel is my own experience.
I invite all my friends – those I’ve met and those I’ve yet to meet – to walk this journey with me. Whether your faith journey finds you in a secure place or fearfully wandering; whether you hold your faith as a compass or framework for your life; whether your “faith journey” involves an organized religion or community or not – all are welcome! I have friends of many varying religions and of no religion, and I learn so much from each of you. Please join me and help me change my heart in the coming weeks.
All 4 Us 
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