I can't get out.
By the time you read this it'll probably have stopped snowing, the skies will have cleared, birds will be singing, and it will feel like spring again. But right now it's a raging blizzard out there and I'm stuck inside my home. The snow's actually falling sideways, and I know that only a fool would be out in that weather. All the same, I feel frustrated and trapped - there's so much work to be done, and I've grown so excited about sharing door to door the good news we share in Jesus, that I don't quite know what to do with myself if I can't get out. So I'm feeling stuck.
Yet stuck inside has somehow been good for me. I've put a pot of chili on to simmer for supper. And between slicing up onions and all the leftover red and green peppers and just a little too much worcestershire sauce, I've finished a few things I'd been putting off - a Bible study, preparations for Palm Sunday and Good Friday, a letter to a friend. I've had time to reflect, as well - on silly things, like wondering how our 19 year old college freshman can manage to come home for spring break with enough dirty laundry for his entire freshman class, but without his winter coat and gloves. I keep wondering if worcestershire sauce should be refrigerated, and how long its shelf life really is, and whether the words "since 1869" refer to the company or the bottle. But I've noticed important things, too - like the wondrous, fragile beauty of the ice-encased trees outside my window, or how excited I am for Sandy to come home from work and try out my chili.
It's for time like this that we have been given the season of Lent: time to stand still and take stock, time to reflect on the condition of your soul, time to ponder the quality of your relationships with family and friends and God and Savior. Like Jesus' forty days of fasting and prayer in the wilderness, Lent gives us 40 days to put away those things that distract us from our God - whether food or money or work or pleasure. In a world that gives us more work than we can ever finish, Lent calls us to pause and reflect on the Christ who loves us with no strings attached.
Take shelter from the storm, my friends, and join us in Lent. Let the world turn without you for just a little while, and be fed not just by chili but by the warmth of the Christ who dwells within your friends, and the meal of bread and wine he serves to give you life.
Pastor Jim
Return to the Lord, your God,
for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger,
and abounding in steadfast love.
Joel 2:13
Those who love me I will deliver;
I will protect those who know my name.
When they call to me, I will answer them.
Psalm 91: 14-15
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E-mail your comments and questions to Pastor Jim in care of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church at gslc@sirus.com.