This week marks the beginning of Lent, a season of preparation. A season of emptying out the old in anticipation of being filled with something new. It is a time for confession when we admit our sins and wrestle with our vulnerabilities and weaknesses. It is a season to prepare us for the journey to the Cross and, ultimately, the empty tomb. In this season of Lent, we are called to reflect on our relationship with God and realize that we are nothing more than dust.
How many of you have encountered dust storms in your lives?
I observed a dust storm in Arizona a few years ago. We were driving on the highway in the desert when we spotted a massive cloud approaching us from the west. The wall of dust was probably a mile high and many miles wide. And it was moving toward us quickly. Little by little, the daylight turned to darkness. There was no way for us to outrun the storm. We couldn’t go around it. We couldn’t get over it. We were afraid to go through it. So, we pulled over to the side of the road and decided to wait it out.
Have you ever found yourself waiting out a storm?
While the winds are howling and the dust particles are stinging our skin, something inside us is whispering a cautionary message. It’s saying, “Maybe it’s time to pull off to the side of the road and sit in the quiet presence of God while you regain your bearings.”
The Season of Lent invites us to open up our hearts and minds to new revelations. It is a time to recall all the ways that God has brought us safely through our last storm and the one before that. It’s time to renew our faith that God will bring us through the present storm and the one that follows. You see, there’s always another storm brewing on the horizon.
While we wait for the dust to settle, we should remember that God is always with us, even in the midst of our most turbulent storms. In God’s presence, we begin to see clearly again. As we watch and wait for God’s deliverance, we begin to lean into God’s love. We start to remember all the times God has stepped in and moved things around for our good and God’s glory.
We remember that God’s liberating love sides with the poor, lifts the lowly, fills the hungry, heals the sick, makes the lame to walk not just in the moment, but throughout the generations from everlasting to everlasting.
During our time of fasting and prayer, stillness and quiet, we should be saying to each other: “Look at what God can do with a little dust, a long-range plan, and the spiritual breath of holy purpose.
So, don’t be dismayed while we’re in the throes of life’s dust storms. Keep watching, remembering, waiting, and praying that God will give us the courage to answer the call when it comes, the clarity to see the larger context, and the stamina to endure until the dust settles.
