Directional-ly Impaired

Holy Promise People, Lent 2017, Second Presbyterian Church 

My family and friends know that I am a little bit directional-ly impaired.  I’m  fine as long as the smart phone battery hangs in there, but if I forget to recharge…I could be circling 86^th street for quite a while!

Life can feel like that sometimes.  There are distractions, obligations, self-imposed expectations, and competing priorities that can take focus away from the joy of a life lived in God .  Could that be why Lent is one of my favorite times of the church season?  Yes, I love the pageantry of Easter and the Christmas music, but there is something soothing and comforting about Lent that reorients me. 

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Often people give something up for Lent as a sign of self-denial.  One year I had to have jaw surgery and gave up talking for Lent.  (Really!) I have friends that give up chocolate, shopping during the week, and even social media. However, one of my favorite things to do for Lent is to “take on” a practice rather than to “give up” a treat.  

The practice came from a bulletin insert back in my childhood.  I have kept this insert, and recopied it for decades.  It traveled with me from adolescence in Crawfordsville, Indiana to college days in Sewanee, Tennessee.  From there it travelled to Texas, Kentucky, Missouri and now back to Indiana. Through marriage, miscarriages, divorce, and parenting --a “Journey of Love” six week practice in an often copied page from Guideposts Magazine gave me courage and context for my own journey.    It also kept my feet on a path towards Easter hope through many a desert of distractions when my batteries were empty.

The Journey of Love used prayer, outreach, and connectivity to point me in the direction of Easter Hope no matter what my life’s circumstances were at the time.  It reminded me that we are all part of, and included in, and located within a community  full of  care and comfort.  It reminded me that I am not alone; you are not alone either. If you were to join me in this practice, the first three weeks of the Journey of Love as a Lenten practice would take us through practices of service and outreach; the last three would ask us to examine ourselves and to remember that we are loved.

 -c- Jose Antonio Gil Martinez- Vigo. Creative Commons 2.0 license

Some thirty years later, I am wandering towards the same desitnation. It has been a long road, and  the Journey of Love still gives me direction. It points me towards not just the cross but on towards the garden where the women first met the risen Christ.  It reminds me that He is still there—and here. The  six week practice also recharges my soul so that when I get there, I have the energy to run and tell the good news.  For me, Lent is about direction and recharging.  It is the perfect season for the directional-ly impaired.

I could not find a link to the Guideposts magazine from the 1970’s.  This is the practice as I have remembered it over the years:

Take a Journey of Love

FIRST WEEK: The Hand of Love

Write a letter a day to a friend, someone not related to you, near or faraway.  Tell them how much you appreciate them. 

SECOND WEEK: The Voice of Love

Telephone two or three people each day for a short chat, just to say what they mean to you or to say “Thank you” or “I’m sorry.”  Call people you have intended to phone but somehow never have.

THIRD WEEK: The Deed of Love

Take something you have made or bought to two or three friends who mean a lot to you, but for whom you rarely express your love—a pie, a plant, an apron, a small remembrance that has your love as a wrapping.

FOURTH WEEK: The Heart of Love

Make a list of at least ten people for whom you will pray daily.  Include your friends, your enemies, those you don’t particularly like.  Forgive them if they have wronged you, and ask forgiveness if you have wronged them.

FIFTH WEEK:  The Mind of Love

Use this week to pray for yourself and to look inward.  Read the book of John.  Plan to go to church early on Palm Sunday to meditate in the sanctuary, or the columbarium, the garden, or in the chapel.

SIXTH WEEK: The Victory of Love

This is the week of celebration.  God’s love for us is revealed in many ways.  Get outdoors and breathe in the air of spring.  Have friends in for dinner and games; invite someone who might be eating alone.  Let your joy be full with life abundant in faith, hope, and love.