Lent is arriving right on time for me! Honestly, even though I have been a Christian since I was in my teens, I have never celebrated Lent. I’m the kind of open minded Christian who studies the Bible on a personal level. The takeaways I get are my own interpretation of things. Some people might consider that unholy or wrong. Sure, many Christians go to church and get taught how to pray. I did the church thing when I was young, and it was not a good experience. To the girl who didn’t fit in anywhere, church was a great place to be the odd man out. Double the sense of not fitting in, my parents didn’t go to church. So church elders looked at me with grave suspicion. I didn’t let that stop me. I was ready to devote my life to Christ, regardless of whether they wanted to be a part of that journey or not.
Nowadays I’m a lot more laid back and open minded. But honestly, this year I could use a renewal of my faith! It has been such a hard few years of my life. Harder than ever it seems. I’ve been doing these mini prayers sprinkled throughout my day, just to be in God’s presence for a while. And today I started reading the book “Rise”, by John Pavlovitz. If you have not heard of John Pavlovitz, he is a former pastor turned writer and leader of a movement for change. He symbolizes the good side of Christianity, not the MAGA side. I’ve been soaking up his writing for the last year or so, mostly through his Substack posts. He fires me up to make a difference.
It isn’t too late to celebrate Lent! Grab a copy of “Rise” from John Pavlovitz’s website and get praying!