The journey of Lent is personal for each Christian. In fact, some Christians aren’t even aware of what Lent is, what it means. It should be a journey of drawing closer to Christ, of understanding His sacrifice. Yet so often it becomes a journey of self-righteousness rather than self-sacrifice. We “give up” something we think is important—often things that would be considered extreme luxuries in other parts of the world—like chocolate or sweets, T.V. or Facebook. Then we tell everyone what we’re doing so they’ll see just how self-sacrificing we are.
Several years ago I decided I wasn’t going to give up things for Lent. Instead, I adopted a writing discipline. This year I decided it would be poetry—I would write a new poem every day for Lent (with Sundays off, of course, because they aren’t part of the 40 days of Lent). Now here I am telling everyone about it, and thinking that I’d forgotten how hard it is to write a new poem every day whether there is inspiration or not. Still, the writing journey does draw me closer to my Savior, requires me to think about Him when I might otherwise be distracted by chocolate or sweets, T.V. or Facebook. It’s really no sacrifice, but it is a worthwhile journey.
Desert sun blazes
Forty days, forty long days
No food, no water
It’s only the beginning
Real sacrifice is coming
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For Haibun Monday at dVerse Poets Pub, Rajani has challenged us to write about a journey. The subject of this haibun was rambling around in my head this morning, though not in terms of a journey, but I wasn’t sure how to express it. The Haibun journey turned out to be the perfect expression. When I tried to write the haiku, however, it wanted to be a tanka.