So much for empty space!

So we begin the season of Lent.

Forty days in the wilderness does not need to be a hardship.

If we let go of something, we then leave an empty space.

We can either let this space remain empty or fill it with our favorite things.
I like the idea of making empty spaces in my day.
I can linger at the window and watch the wind whip up the scant snow that fills our little wilderness below.

I can drink in words I wrote in my journal about this time last year.
Or, I can simply sit by the fire and sip a nice hot cup of tea.

When I have done enough of that, I do seem to gravitate toward 'doing'... at least reflecting.  I am not much for leaving my 'head-space' empty ... although that is not a bad idea ... to stare blankly at nothing for awhile.
It's refreshing.





Yet, I still like my piles.  They seem to surround me.
 I like to fill empty spaces with things I love ... like my journals.
 I have several and want to fill each of them differently.
 Thoughts, wonderings, pictures, prayers, insights . . .
 Look at this mess!
  My eye catches what I want to see and lets go of the rest.

My journal for the book of Acts that I teach.
The Book of Common Prayer helps me with a lenten devotional.
My other journal fills up with words that flow from my mind after reading scripture.
Everything jumbled on top of mail and articles I "must-read-soon." 

I gravitate away from my studies.  Ahhhh, time for a delicious book to melt away the hours of cold wind that batter the eves of our house.

"Abba" and "The Fruit of the Spirit" are annual reads.
Tiny books packed with powerful thoughts.

Piles of books.  Most are not yet read and await completion during these winter months.  The little books on top are re-reads that I pull out each Lent.
It takes me nearly all of the forty days to chew on the words inside.

I linger too long at the window.

  I sip my tea slowly.  

One of these days I will finish this pile. 

 I WILL empty this space . . .  only to fill it again with more to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest.

So much for empty spaces.

The Empty Space

Time = Space
Time takes up space.  We cannot have space without the presence of time.  Therefore, when we extend our EMPTY time, we extend our EMPTY space.  That said, you have noted the empty space over nearly a month.

I have been remiss to the say the least.  A bit of traveling, filling in for another who was sick for a month, busy-ness, lack of time . . . equals an empty blog-space.

So, we begin again .
I will try to fill the space with something interesting but not today.

This is a 'cairne' ... a marker.
It marks a space that needs nothing more.
Each rock sits atop another, precariously.
It tells me to stop, EMPTY myself.
BE ... life is precarious ... enjoy the moment.

We are entering a new season . . .  a season of preparation . . .  a season of reflection  . . . a season to empty ... ourselves ... BE ... reflect.

Today is an interesting event in this neck of the woods.
They call it Fasnacht Tuesday.  I've always called it Shrove Tuesday.
We eat Fashachts.
Since I did not take a picture of this tasty treat, I must leave you with an empty space.
It looks like a donut and tastes much richer.
 It's heavier.
 It's fabulous.
I only eat one a year.

Whoever celebrates this day is trying to EMPTY the cupboards of rich delights or EMPTY ourselves of that party spirit.  For tomorrow, we begin six weeks of fasting ... an emptying time ... a time to search our souls ... do penance of sorts.

We are asked to fast from something but this 'fasting' is actually finding a way to EMPTY a time or space or habit in order to GIVE to another, DO for another.  We give up something that we might give more abundantly in an area that we may have neglected.

In other words, I might give up time to satisfy my own needs in order to give that time to another in need.
 I might spend a little less so that I can give away a little more to a charity or someone in need.
 I might eat fewer foods that I really do not need in order to add to my health.
 I might eat less each week in order to give more to the food bank.

To EMPTY one's self of bad habits simply leaves SPACE to build new ones.
Not a bad idea.
The most difficult part of this season called LENT is just to do it.
I can 'say' whatever I want but to DO it?
That is something else.
I leave now . . .  to fill up on words that I will EMPTY out to others tomorrow as we celebrate ASH Wednesday, an EMPTYing time.