Lent is here tomorrow. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of 40 days of spiritual drought for me. There is no good way to celebrate the death of Jesus. So this part of the church year tends to wear me out like winter!! It has been a hard, cold, long, difficult winter on the High Plains and now we wait for Easter. I am giving up complaining for Lent. It is going to be a challenge because every day that I wake up I groan and hurt, so I say something like “I’m so sick of hurting.” That is my complaint! I am going to attempt to say nothing and not acknowledge that pain. It is a noble act of attempting to be more aware of what comes out of my mouth! If I am tired of feeling like this, surely my friends and family are extraordinarily sick of hearing me complain! That’s my goal.

This winter has given way to it’s normal depression, lack of sunshine and intense cold and snow. We have lost cows and calves and seen that the brutal weather waits for no one. While we are struggling with the cold and wind, Alabama was hit with tragic tornadoes. I watch the news footage of the recovery of its victims and my heart breaks for the families of the victims. Who on earth could prepare for something of this magnitude? How do you prepare for winters blast? How do you mentally prepare to be beaten up every single year by the mental drought of summer? I don’t do well this time of year, but this winter has dragged on so long that even the normally optimistic people are struggling! WE are ready for the thaw and to get moving into the summer. Life on the Plains is rough!

What are you considering acknowledging for Lent? I would like to know!!

until then…..stay warm

e