40 Days

I was driving up to NC the other day for my father's 70th birthday party and I was thinking about our upcoming trip to Israel in September. Ben and I will be joining my parents along with several other folks from Greensboro and High Point, NC for a 10 day trip to the Holy Land. The group is being led by my former pastor from one of the churches I attended while growing up in Greensboro. He no longer pastors a church but he continues to serve in a pastoral role as he leads many community Bible studies around that area. Intellectually, I know this will be an amazing trip, but it is hard to really grasp what it will mean. However, if history is any indication, I suspect I can play a significant part in the degree to which the trip impacts me, most especially on a spiritual and emotional level.



I am not saying that what I do or don't do affects God showing up...He is always there, as consistent tomorrow as He was yesterday, and He is always right on time. No, it all has to do with my spiritual attentiveness. And apparently, it is not something that I can just turn off and on at will. It seems to be an organic thing that I can feed or starve and it waxes and wanes accordingly. I would say over the last several months I haven't been feeding it very well. So, I was thinking in the car about how I want that to change, most especially given the fact that I am being given an incredible opportunity to experience God is some really amazing new ways come September. I want to be on the edge of my seat, spiritually speaking, when those wheels touch down in Tel Aviv.



While I don't go to a particularly liturgical church and I am loathe to subject myself to rote religious practices, I do find that there is a richness of worship that comes from spiritual traditions when you go to the core of why they exist and from where they grew. A few examples would be a very timely discovery of the meaning of a lyric in a hymn that became very dear to me at a time of spiritual searching...."Here I raise my Ebenezer". We now have raised our own Ebenezer...see if you can find it when you come visit ;-) Another would be the deeper understanding of all of the layers of the Passover and how it connects so powerfully to the blood painted around the door to my heart. So, I started thinking about what spiritual tradition or discipline could I connect with that would provide some focus to a time of preparing for this upcoming trip? And quietly the word floated up in my mind...."Lent". Interesting, so as I was driving, I grabbed a quick glance at a calendar. (Before you send me my lecture, I know I am not supposed to do such things while driving. Now, in my defense this was before all the buzz in the news the last few days when we were informed by doctors that we should pay attention when we are walking or driving because bad things could happen if we don't, like car accidents or falling off sidewalks...thank goodness for doctors. So, I am now properly informed and without excuse. Just like McDonalds adding the warning that the coffee is hot and could burn you!) As I started counting off the days to my trip, I discovered something interesting. It would be EXACTLY 40 days from the upcoming Sunday (today) to the day we touch down in Israel. Now Ben might be able to tell me what the odds are for this, but it doesn't really matter to me. You see, God knows that I love that kind of thing and I have learned not to question the fact that it was mysteriously intended. I love the fact that He speaks my language. And even more so, I love the fact that He meets me right where I am at the time. Case in point, I learned from Ben's discovery today that while Lent does last for 40 days, it does not include Sundays. But given the fact that I didn't know that while driving along I85 on Wednesday, God ordered it Jen-size. So, I am observing my own Lent (with Sundays included) in the summer and turning my heart and my face towards my God who always waits patiently for this posture. And I love how He promises, even in the timing of discovery, that He will eagerly meet me there. So, I invite you on the journey through this blog and I hope to be able to include you on it while I am overseas, as well. How awesome is it that I can commune with the author of Time!