With Ash Wednesday this week, my thoughts have turned to the meaning of Lent. In the past, I’ve given up something like chocolate or wine. Fasting is a way of helping us to focus on our spiritual life and prayer and reflect on the 40 days that Jesus fasted in the desert.
This year I’m fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, but the rest of the days, I’m planning to intentionally discern the TURNING POINTS in my life. We all have forks in the road where we have two or more options; the end of the road is out of sight and we choose one path over another based solely upon faith. These TURNING POINTS are when God reveals himself to us. We trust Him to show us the way, feeling a nudge or hearing a voice that reveals the choice. The answer isn’t based upon our rational list of pros and cons, but instead it’s an emotional response. Most of us aren’t very comfortable in this intangible place.
Some TURNING POINTS are small; only in retrospect do they reveal the glory of God. Some TURNING POINTS are huge such as who we marry or what vocation we choose. Whether small or large, they first start with us trusting that God loves us and wants the best for us and that He will reveal His love for us.
One TURNING POINT in my life was post-College. I’d dated a Cardiology Fellow for almost three years when it became obvious that he wasn’t interested in marriage and we broke up. For years it was a painful memory that I couldn’t shake. It took me almost 30 years to realize that it was a TURNING POINT for me. He was a member of a Southern Baptist Church in Oklahoma City and we faithfully attended church every Sunday and throughout the week. It was through him that I first discovered the Bible and when Scripture became alive for me. I am forever grateful that God put him in my life, not as a marriage partner, but instead to show me God’s love through Scripture.
Will you join me over the next 6 weeks in reflecting on the TURNING POINTS in your life, when God became real for you?
Blessings, my friend,
Agatha