A Journey Through Lent: Day 1

 


Lent Day 1-Full


“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬


I haven’t always observed lent in an intentional manner. A few years ago I stumbled upon a photo-a-day Instagram challenge for Lent. Prior to this project, my attempts to observe lent were mostly limited to giving up soda, sugar, or something along those lines. I was probably in my thirties before I seriously thought about observing lent with the practice of “giving up” or “adding” in order to be more mindful about the Easter journey. The year I first gave up soda turned into about two years of not drinking carbonated beverages. But the year I came across the Photo challenge changed how I viewed my practice of lent. It inspired my creativity and made me think about how God was working in my life through all of my experiences and encounters. And while the challenge only called for a posted photograph, my captions became a glimpse into the meditations of my heart inspired by a single word prompt. 


It has been a few years since I seriously tackled this project but this felt like the year I should be intentional in my meditations and writing. Today's word prompt is the word "full" and references Luke 4:1. The world we live in feels increasingly foreign to me. I am often full of anxiety and worry for my family members who are on the margins of society in so many ways. I struggle with the way people interpret the same speech, text, live feed of an event, etc… completely different from me. I’ve always believed we humans have more in common than not and if we just listened to one another we could find some common ground. My experience is the more I get to know someone the more I am likely to extend grace and mercy to my fellow man. The more likely I am to love my neighbor. I’ll be honest,  my faith in humanity is on shaky ground at the moment. So as I think of Jesus being “full of the Holy Spirit” while I am full of anxiety, I am reminded that we are on a journey through the wilderness. I may not FEEL very full of the Holy Spirit at every moment of the day, but I have complete faith He is with me always.







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