“Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” – Matthew 19:26 NIV
So much of my previous Lenten journeys have been spent focusing on worldly things. Traditionally it has been about giving something up. No sweets this year. No Facebook. No alcohol. Other times it has been about disciplining myself to reduce these things in my life, knowing full well that giving them up altogether would be next to impossible. And knowing full well that the day after Easter it would all come flooding back in. Even in their absence during Lent, these things still dominate my every thought. It’s the Pee Wee Herman syndrome if I’ve ever seen it. If I give up sweets for Lent, chocolate and ice cream seem to be everywhere I look. If I give up alcohol, people seem to be reaching out every day to ask to have a drink. If I give up Facebook, every other person seems to ask, “Did you see So-and-So’s crazy post on Facebook?!”
Interestingly (and thank God for this) the reverse seems to be true when I choose to add stuff in during Lent rather than cut stuff out. For instance, this year I resolved to write every day, and now I see stories and writing ideas everywhere I look. Most of them are silly or not-well-though-out, but their mere existence serves to fuel the creative juices inside me and open me up to new ideas and experiences. It’s a little overwhelming to be honest, there are only so many hours in the day to sit down at my computer. But it is heartening to know that God provides when you make a positive, disciplined commitment to him. The other thing I am learning, very quickly, is that if this exercise were up to me to accomplish, it would be “impossible” as the passage says. But give it over to God and everything is possible. As I hope these posts demonstrate, the product (and production) of that work is not always perfect, or even good, but at least it is possible.
What Lies Before 