I came home from retreat on Tuesday to find an early Valentine's gift made by the hands and heart of my daughter, Katie. It's my favorite dessert AND favorite food! Coconut pie...
No kidding... this is why I don't give up sweets for Lent!
And the timing was perfect, because yesterday was just that. Sweet.
But it was sweet in the hard way. I gave the Lenten Lesson yesterday at the 7am and 7pm services at our church, All Souls. Ash Wednesday is not a day of yippee, nor should it be. We are reminded that we are made from dust and will return to dust. The spirit of the day is about the preparation for The Journey... His Journey, that we are honored to walk with Him.
But here's the hard part: it was also the day that I told most of my pastor friends that I will be taking two months off to allow the non-profit I work for to build a reserve. I'll stop leading retreats and small groups and put the one-on-one-chats-over-coffee on hold.
In mid-November I received a clear word from God saying, "2013 is your year of gratitude." And I can say that literally every day this year, I've been about to bust with a new thankfulness to God! Even as I step back from the men and conversations that I love, I carry no entitlements. As far as I can tell I am demanding nothing of God or others that "my work" (ha!) continue.
Jim Branch texted Deuteronomy 33:12 to me:
Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in Him,
for He shields him all day long,
and the one the Lord loves rests between His shoulders.
He carries me.
Nope... never giving up sweets for Lent.
