A Journey Through Lent with Pastor Dawnn

 A Note for You...

Welcome to A Journey Through Lent with Pastor Dawnn. My guess is that you are here because you are interested in connecting with the community. Or maybe you are here because you don’t know anything about Lent, what it is, or what it is not. In either case, welcome. A Journey Through Lent will invite you to learn, engage, and reflect through scripture, music, and prayer.

This Lenten devotional was an invitation from God, for me to deepen my faith. God and I were in conversation about my desire to engage God and my faith in ways that felt tangible. In this season of my life, I need to feel God in a real way and the liturgical season of lent seemed like a good time to explore what that could look like. For those of you with the question of “what is the liturgical season of lent,” keep reading.

In short, Lent is, in the Christian church, a period of penitential preparation for Easter.  In Western churches it begins on Ash Wednesday, six and a half weeks before Easter, and provides a 40-day period for fasting and abstinence.

For years, my Lenten practice had been to abstain from something I enjoy (think: television, social media, etc.) and to use the time spent previously indulging those things to pray to God. And for a season, that was enough. At the end of lent, I felt somewhat revived mostly, I think, because I had spent intentional time with God that would have otherwise been filled doing other things. I did this practice for years. In fact, I started when I was a kid and hardly ever deviated from the things from which I chose to abstain. About 10 years ago, I was invited to participate in lent in a way that invited me to “abstain from” and “add to.” In other words, I added journaling and prayer to my Lenten practice, still abstaining from indulgences like social media, but being intentional about connecting with God in ways that felt real rather than abstract. I began to have conversation with God as though I was speaking to a friend. I would write questions in my journal that reflected my inner thoughts. I listened to music that resonated with whatever I was feeling for that day. But after a while – some years – even that practice fell flat. So, I completely abandoned any practice of lent. I ate whatever I desired. I watched tv if I wanted to. And I didn’t spend any time in reflection about God or faith or anything that God could have been speaking to me about my continued purpose as a person, pastor or human, even.

I admit that recently (last year), when lent began, I felt the pressure of my previous Lenten practices beckoning me to return. You may remember last year’s Lenten season; we did a 24-hour prayer vigil and an experiential prayer labyrinth that engaged the senses. It was cool but it still didn’t provide me with what I wanted. I had begun to feel empty, in general, but, more specifically, as the season of lent would begin and people around me (pastoral colleagues, friends) would post their Lenten practices, I would sit with two distinct attitudes as my companions: comparison and desperate yearning. First, I would compare my spiritual journey to theirs. Watching them post about their practice of prayer, meditation, fasting, etc., meant that they were “more saved that I” or “would receive more jewels in their heavenly crown.” Yes, I can admit the ridiculousness of this type of thinking, nevertheless, it was what I felt.  I also felt a deep and desperate yearning to reconnect with God. It was more than a desire to pray. It was more of a yearning to hear God, feel God and interact with God in a way that felt…real. I wanted to discuss with God my feelings about racism, lament, grief, JOY, love, compassion. I wanted to talk about EVERYDAY things. More, I wanted God to talk back. I needed God to talk back. I no longer wanted to feel like the words of my prayers were falling into a deep abyss, never reaching God’s spirit, and lingering in the atmosphere. I wanted to see God in the mundane (emotions, thoughts, and desires) AND in the extraordinary things of life (creation, humanity, and faith). I wanted to EXPERIENCE God!

And so, this is my invitation to you. I invite you to EXPERIENCE God with me. Come explore the ordinary and extraordinary manifestations of God! This Lenten devotional will offer you an opportunity to read, listen, reflect, AND respond.  

My hope is that at the end of our Journey Through Lent we will have EXPERIENCED God together; listening, reflecting, and seeking ways to connect with God that will challenge us and increase our faith.

Join me in A Journey Through Lent.

Amazed by God’s Grace,

Pastor Dawnn

Instructions:
Each day during Lent, this page will reflect a new devotional for you to:

• READ IT!
  Read the devotional. Reflect on the devotional. Listen to the Music. Say the Prayer!

• SHARE IT!
  If the daily devotional resonated with you, please SHARE IT to your social media platforms, blogs, and websites. Oh, and you can tag me in it, too! Facebook: D. Marie Brumfield

• Comment!
  I want to hear from you! Comment on what resonates (or what doesn't!) with you! Start a conversation with someone about the devotional. Comment on what YOU think, feel, or believe. Did something challenge you? Comment, please.