By Betty Hertz
Lamentations 3:22-24 (NRSV)
22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
Great is your faithfulness.
24 "The Lord is my portion," says my soul,
"Therefore, I will hope in him."
As I thought about past Lenten seasons, I recalled people rejoicing when they could finally do whatever they had "given up" for Lent. I reread what fasting involves. John Wesley believed in fasting once a week to express sorrow for sin and to seek forgiveness. He also believed that by doing this, more time for praying became available. If giving up something created more time to focus on God, why go back to previous practices that interfered with that?
I am reminded in Lamentations, "the love of the Lord never ceases." My thinking is if that love never ceases, then I should continue in what my fasting involved. This Lent, I "gave up" intermittent contact with God to have intentional contact with God. I changed from my brief quick prayers and fast readings of scripture to a set time to quiet my mind and let God into my heart. Out of this intentional time with God grew my journaling and reflections.
Is my fasting over? No – in my heart, I have found a sense of peace that I'm not willing to let end. I want to focus on who I am, who I can be, and who God is calling me to be (modified from Pastor Andy's list).
What am I doing moving forward? When I took the Lay Servant Basic course and the Preaching course, I discovered the website BeaDisciple.com. The site offers online classes for anyone who's interested in new experiences in their spiritual journey. This discovery has led me to seek more courses to go deeper into my faith. Monday, I started "Come to the Table," which focuses on finding deeper meaning in the communion service. I thank God that learning and growing in faith never stops.
Faithful and loving Father, help me to live the words of Psalm 51:10 "create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me." Amen
Betty Hertz is a longtime member of St John UMC, a Stephen Minister and a member of SPRC. When not doing volunteer work, she is playing with her three goofy dogs.