Thankful: For a Season of Thoughtfulness

They know nothing, they understand nothing;

their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, 

and their minds are closed so they cannot understand.

No one stops to think...

Isaiah 44:18-19a

I was not raised in a church that followed the lectionary or the liturgical church calendar, so I knew nothing of the season of Lent, or of Ash Wednesday (the day after Fat Tuesday) that marks its beginning.  Palm Sunday? Easter?  I knew and understood them both.  But I did not become acquainted with Ash Wednesday and the Lenten traditions until I was hired (beginning at age 14) to be the organist for churches of other denominations.

Lent is a period of approximately six weeks calculated from Ash Wednesday until Easter.  Most churches do not count Sunday as part of Lent, and many denominations end Lent on either Maundy Thursday (in commemoration of Christ's arrest and trial), Good Friday (Jesus' death by crucifixion), or Easter Eve (Saturday evening when Jesus lay in the tomb).  For many denominations, Lent is a time of contemplation, prayer, repentence and self-denial.  Often individuals "give up" one of their favorite things during the time of Lent.  One of my good friends gives up chocolate every single year. 

I see great benefit in setting aside a period of time to spend in thoughtful contemplation of one's life (where you have been, where you are now, and where you hope to be in the future), prayer and an examination of character.  Ideally, this should happen on a daily basis, but most of us, ironically, don't have "time" for that.  Perhaps this year I should "give up" my hurried, driven pace and determine to start each day during Lent 2013 by stopping and thinking - about God, about life, about me.