Dropping by at the beginning of Lent

I am sorry I have been so absent from the blogosphere lately! To be honest, having to go to a coffee shop ever time I want to use the internet is getting kind of old. Plus, inspiration hits at various points, and when I am inspired, I am often at home without the internet, and then when I am sitting in a coffee shop (like now), I feel strangely unmotivated and uninspired to write. Maybe it's that, or maybe it's that I feel more "under pressure" to write something brilliant and then just end up with writer's block.

The good news, though, is that it's looking like I will probably be able to get internet at my apartment within the next month or so. Hurray! Having an internet-free home has indeed been very fruitful, but I feel like I have reaped the benefits of the solitude, gained a worthwhile perspective, and am now ready to jump back into being "connected."

Lent has begun since my last post, and I feel as though I should write something about the Lenten season. Truth be told, though, I feel like what the Lord is calling me to this Lent is extremely close to my heart, and heart to put into words.

In a nutshell though, I have been thinking about how Lent is fundamentally a time to recognize the depth of the Lord's love. It means going to a place where you are honest with yourself about your faults and weaknesses, but by getting to that place, you recognize 1) your total dependence on the Lord, 2) your true, unshakable, unarguable, undeniable, fundamental worth as a beloved child of the Father and the immense love of Christ for you as evidenced by His sacrifice on the cross.

It means being stripped of all that clouds your understanding of this Love that is the foundation of your being. Of letting go of the lies that would let you believe that you need more than This to get by. Of letting go of the lies that tell you that you are unlovable and out of Mercy's reach. Rather, Lent is a time to let Love flood you to the core, and realize that it is the mercy of the Savior that has made you, sustains you, strengthens you, calls you, and ravishes your heart.

This is my Lenten prayer.