Like Bending a Rock (02/24/2026)

Why does Lent have to be so tough? The spiritual parent in me is trying to discipline the toddler in me, and it’s like trying to bend a rock. Why does the “willful” me always show up the first full week of Lent?

Ash Wednesday through last Saturday went fairly well. Sunday is not technically a day of Lent, so I take a bit of a break. But then the Monday of the 1^st full Week of Lent came and it was as tough as trying to ice skate uphill on grass. I knew that’s been the pattern for so many years, but I was hoping with my more mature self I’d find Lent easier this year and my trying to discipline myself so that I’d be a better, stronger, more faithful and loving disciple come Easter would go more smoothly. Obviously, I was mistaken.

And just as I was about to tear up my Lenten promises, I got a phone call from a friend, a dear friend. We spoke for one hour and forty minutes, which if you know me, you know that is not usual. A 10-minute phone call for me is long, usually. But the time flew by. We talked about ourselves but mostly we supported one another and accompanied one another as we tried to sort things out and make plans. And as I hung up the phone, I realized that my tension about Lent had vanished. And I asked myself “Why?”

And the answer I heard were John the Baptist’s words in my head: “He must increase; I must decrease.” And I understood.

I needed to quit focusing on me and instead focus on growing closer to Christ. I needed to quit thinking about what I was giving up and spend more time nurturing what I was seeking to grow, my love for and reliance upon the LORD. When I was talking about my friend, I was focused on our relationship and seeking the best for us both by insisting we be our best. That’s what the LORD wants from me for Lent – for me to work on my relationship with Him, seeking what will make me my best for Him and for love of Him.

Suddenly, I understood better why Lent was so hard. I was focusing too much on what I was doing without rather than what I was building and strengthening and purifying. And I began to see Lent more as a time for removing the obstacles I’ve allowed to get between me and my LORD. And my stony heart softened.

God looks after fools and short Irish women, as I’ve always said, and so, being doubly blessed, I thanked the LORD for the intervention in the form of a phone call from a friend and for the realization of what was important and what was not.

Lent’s looking different this morning. I’m still keeping my same promises, but the hill I’m trying to climb doesn’t seem so high because I’m finding that I’m carrying less on my journey and hoping more. It’s not like trying to bend a rock today because I remembered, “The LORD is my rock and my salvation.”

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.