Rest T
By Cheri Mueller
hrilled with the invitation to spend a weekend with friends at their new lake home, Jim and Janelle packed up their Jeep with fishing poles, beach toys, bags and bug spray. Their vehicle, jam-packed and loaded down, was a perfect metaphor for their stress-filled lives.
Mueller is a member of Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Chanhassen, Minn.
In addition to the normal strain of raising three small children, they had been dealing with an unexpected sea- son of unemployment, the deaths of two close family members and several medical challenges. Needless to say, they were desperate for a vacation and thankful for the chance to unwind. As their vehicle lurched onto the highway, feelings of stress began to melt away, slowly, like the ice in their cooler of groceries and pop.
14 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
A fresh approach to Lenten discipline CORBIS
The best part of the trip was leaving behind the fierce drive of agendas, routines and unrelent- ing responsibilities. They savored lying in a hammock and studying the sun glistening on the water like sparklers on the Fourth of July. Waking up at midnight to show their children an evening sky boasting a pollution-free view of the moon. Picking raspberries and rhubarb in the early morning, their mouths stained happy red as they anticipated rolling out pastry for a pie. Swimming in the lake. Living in the moment. What if we approached Lent with this same easy discipline, embracing a vacation-minded rhythm to our days? Instead of taking on more, giving up more, serving or sacrificing more, what if we focused on the promise in Isaiah 30:15: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quiet- ness and in trust shall be your strength”? What if we committed to repentance and rest during Lent, embracing the Hebrew meaning of
salvation—yasha: to be open, wide or free? Repentance
Angie was accustomed to giving something up for Lent. The way she understood it, giving up a vice would clear some of the obstacles in her heart, making room for more of God’s presence. One year she gave up coffee. Another year it was chocolate. Then she switched to exercising more (or trying).
“I’m not sure I drew closer to God, but I do know I felt like a big failure,” she lamented. “I tried to pray more, give more, but the vice thing … well let’s just say I never overcame my faults successfully, and believe me I have more than one.” For Angie self-denial achieved the opposite effect. It
didn’t help her focus on God, it just left her with a moun- tain of guilt.
Although there’s a place for self-sacrifice, it’s only a redemptive experience if the process brings us face to face with our loving Savior. According to Isaiah 30:15, the Hebrew word for repent means more than just turning from sin. It means “re-turning” from sin and to God.
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