It's Lent. Wilderness time.
It’s a time to empty out the trash, the little stuff that gathers in corners of the soul and seems to plague the heart.
It’s time to FILL those empty spaces with good things like the fruit of the Spirit that energizes the mind, heart and soul to do what is good and right and brings joy and mercy into a very dark world.
It’s time to wait, watch, listen, breathe deep, LINGER in the arms of my beloved Lord.
It’s time to read words of affirmation that remind me of God’s mercy and grace.
It’s time to begin my walk to the Cross as Jesus did immediately after he was baptized in the Jordan river by John as an example to us all.
It’s time to be swept into the desert with Jesus and linger with Him as He lingers with the Father through the power of the Spirit.
It’s time.
Time: a commodity that is not endless.
Time began at creation.
Time ends when we die and leave this earth.
Time equals space. [Einstein’s theory of relativity, 1905]
Time and space evaporate for each individual after our very short existence on this planet.
Then what?
If time evaporates, so does space.
“Confessions of St. Augustine”, book 11 and his other book, “City of God” book 11, chapter 6, states: “Knowledge of time depends on the knowledge of the movement of things, and therefore time cannot be where there are no creatures to measure its passing.”
Although God ‘created,’ past tense, God IS.
Our perception of past, present and future was created by God for us, to enable us to live a finite number of years in the space we inhabit.
God may have created, past tense, but God is always in the present.
God is not defined by time and space.
In fact, the amount of time it takes for us to say the word, “God,” has already taken up some time and therefore, space.
We can use time and space given to each of us to argue this trivia or we can use this precious commodity to enhance our lives.
I argue for the later.
I choose to live the best life possible, with the least amount of garbage getting in my way.
Easier said than done.
I define garbage as anything that shortens my JOY, my days of life, my positive interaction with other humans, my very finite dreams and so much more.
If I chew on foods that destroy my body, I choose to shorten my life.
If I chew on food that pierces my soul, heart and mind with that which causes my spirit to shrink, I choose to shorten my soul-life.
If I take little or no time to chew on challenges that might cause difficulty at first but might also lead to the ability to make my spirit soar with joy and gladness, I have wasted this precious commodity called ‘time.’
So, into the desert I go for a small amount of time.
I could not endure forty days just yet, or could I?
I choose to take one step at a time and set aside a small amount of ‘desert’ time each day.
I set aside time to read words that fill my soul with hope and affirm in my heart my commitment to God, through His son Jesus Christ.
These words of instruction, affirmation or exhortation are like rubbing a sweet balm of healing into my entire being.
I set aside just a few minutes each day to digest scripture, listen in my spirit for what the Lord is saying to me and talk back in response.
I love the freedom of talking back to God, knowing that Father, Son, Holy Spirit, all One, love me enough to listen and receive my argumentative notions.
I love knowing I can ‘dump’ my garbage at the foot of the Cross, where Jesus stained the earth with His blood as he took my mucky, dark, sins upon Himself.
I love knowing that, by Jesus’ act of love on the Cross, His blood covers my meek excuses, my sinful thoughts, words and deeds.
Jesus’ time in the desert, living in his full humanity, prepared him for his very short three years of ministry before he made the choice to be the ultimate sacrifice for us, his creation.
Jesus, both human and divine, was the last sacrifice, the last sin offering, made once, for all, so that our short minutes of ‘desert time’ with Him would always be fruitful and multiply and bloom into new life.
Time.
Just a little time with God is needed each day to fill the soul.
Easy?
Never.
There is always something that gets in the way.
It’s my choices that make the difference.
And so I say a little prayer to spur me on:
Help me, Lord, to take time, a mere moment with You.
Help me to linger a little longer each day so that ‘my’ time becomes Your time.
Help me linger without awareness of time or space so that I can float above the gravitational pull of anxiety, fear, unforgiveness and other garbage.
Help me feel Your embrace, Lord, for just a moment, and be energized to do the same with others.
Help me Linger Longer with you.
amen
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