Giving Up Security for Lent?

by Barry Wiseman

Lent. That's something Catholics do, right? Why would I want to go through that? It might do something to my faith. Mess me up. Confuse me.

I could go on making up excuses. In fact, I'm pretty good at it. I managed to cram five years of college into seven by using excuses, and became rather adept at procrastination. But this time, God isn't having any of it.

It seems that God has chosen for me to give up my security for Lent. After a year of wrestling with God and the expectations of others, my family and I are beginning the search for another congregation to serve. I hate moving with a passion, the whole process of packing, loading, unloading, and unpacking. But most of all, I want to avoid that wobbly feeling of not sensing a firm foundation under my feet that knowing where your office and your home is provides. Soon, one way or another, I will have different ones.

I've been told that I hate moving so much it takes dynamite to move me. That's been true of the past, and it's true again now. But I'm viewing the "dynamite," or dunamis, differently. I've experienced the "fasting from security" before. That same shaky, weak-kneed feeling exists, but this time I have a stronger perspective. I know the power of God will bring us to the place He has prepared for us. But, also, this time I not only have to trust my immediate family to God, but also my parents and mother-in-law who live near us.

This Lent, God is not accepting any more excuses from me. He's like the parent who takes the face of His child in His loving hands and says, "Do I have your attention, now?"

Yes, Lord, I can hear You.