No matter what happens to
us, the path is always there in front of
us when we focus our eyes on God.
We could have been lost or detoured
for years, but God will still shine His
light on the way we need to go. If we
need some help, God will send us
someone to walk with us. And, God
never leaves us on our own to walk
alone. That’s why I like to keep a
little bit of Christmas around to
remind me God is still with me.
           Try journeying through
Lent this spring with a touch of
Christmas in your pocket, or on
your bedside table, or on the wall
above your desk, or wherever you
can see it often. Every time you
look at your Christmas reminder,
think God is with me. Reach out
and touch the special reminder
object. You can reach out and
touch God with the same ease, and
God will reach back.
           Lent reminds us of the hard times in our
lives. The times that change us and make us
grow, but are such a challenge we often barely
endure them. Lent also reminds us that we
never go through hard times alone. God is as
close as our next prayer. Jesus has been there
and ached through tough moments just as we
have. The best part about Lent is that it reminds
us at the end of the road there is a magnificent
U-turn. Just when we think we have reached a
dead end, God opens a new way.
           There is still a Christmas
decoration sitting on my desk here
in my office. Yes, I am aware it is
February! I dislike “taking down”
the Christmas decorations, carefully
packing them into boxes and
relegating them to the attic. It feels
like Emmanuel, the God who is
supposed to be with us all the time,
goes on an 11 month vacation. I
can’t speak for anyone else, but I
need God with me all the time.
           Life happens every
day. When I can look at
something that reminds me of
Christmas, my spiritual memory
gets a jog. God is with me
whether the Christmas music is
playing in the mall or not. God
is with me whether it’s snowing
or 100º outside. God is with
me when the forces of chaos
attempt to engulf me or when
everything I touch turns golden.
           As we approach the church season of
Lent, we are confronted by Jesus’ long walk to
Jerusalem, and our own long walk through life.
Although Jesus was able to stick to the path God
laid out for Him, we often find ourselves on an
unexpected detour or downright lost. Maybe we
just stepped off the path for a moment, but
somehow our feet got entangled in some brush we
didn’t see. Maybe we tripped over an obstacle
and stumbled so far off the path we need help to
find it again. More likely, we were tricked by a
path we were sure was God’s but it turned out to
be a mirage.
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The LifeNote