A time to prepare
Posted by Shannon on February 20, 2007
Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. I’m sure you already knew that.
I was drawn on two reminders of the start of Lent today. The first as I was preparing for work when the announcers were celebrating “Fat Tuesday” with the announcer stuffing himself with brownies. The other when a friend asked what I was giving up for Lent. It’s something I’ve thought about, especially when my good friend, Greg, has talked about spending more in prayer over these next 40 days, especially as we walk through the wilderness of darkness, just as Jesus did.
Now, going into really thinking about this, I had given the non-commital “I’ll give up soda” this year, which I will likely continue. (Though in reality, I’m actually giving up sweets and pizza.) But I want to add something and I think that addition is facing the things - the questions - in my life that need to be addressed. Certainly, the larger theme of this is surrounded around the question of “Where are you leading me?” I know there is a call, but what does it look like? What road am I going on? Am I going for deacon or elder?
These are questions other have had for me and it’s one that I wasn’t ready to answer. Perhaps because I spent so much time discerning if there is a call that I never took the time to let it be shaped. So in these next 40 days, I want to pray, read, discern more on what this future looks like. I don’t expect the answer to be given to me Easter morning, but I pray that I come out of this more prepared and ready for the voyage that God has placed me on.
I’m heading on a road that is exciting while also scary. In the corporate world, I know what lies ahead of me. That provides comfort. Not knowing what lies ahead scares me. I need to be more prepared and trusting that God knows what is in store for me at Asbury and where else I may go in service of Him.
So may we step foot into these next 40 days in prayer and preperation for God’s will and light to be shine in all our lives.
