Ash Wednesday

I'm sitting by a fire that I built on the property that I'll be calling home for the foreseeable future. My boys were a part of the building tonight...they found sticks for kindling and got, what I assume to be, their one-hundredth lesson on the concept of starting a fire.  (At least they will know.) Tonight's fire was more than just building a fire. There was much preparation. A season of neglect required that the collected dirt and debris be removed, leading to sweeping and organizing the entire stone patio on which the fire pit is built. We swept all of the leaves and sticks into a pile, put a couple of pieces of good seasoned logs on top, and made a pretty perfect fire. Fire is always captivating. We watched the large pile of wood slowly shrink into orange coals that became heat and light; leaving behind the ashes...the only unusable part of our fire. Before the next blaze, these ashes will be scooped up and placed in an out of the way pile where the earth can redeem them and start the cycle again.  It's Ash Wednesday.  I've grown to approach lent without the same kind of plan as many.  I don't give up chocolate or soda or tv or anything like that. I only resist doing that because for me it isn't much of a sacrifice...they don't rob me from my spiritual life (well...not so much anyway) For me, lent is always a journey where God has something specific to put in my life. It's always good...as His gifts always are...but I find they require me to give up things.  Lent has often been a season of loss for me...but loss so that my hands are open for the gift that the season will bring. As I sat by the fire tonight, I was wondering about the loss that might come and readying myself. I trust God. Everything that has gone in my life has been replaced with something better. Not easier (nothing truly good is completely easy) but always better. This has been a season of rebuilding and receiving.  This fire is in a brand new house...at least new to me...that is still in a bit of chaos from moving and rehabbing. I have often had the thought that I want to finish this house so that it can be filled with people to love.  Sitting by the fire on a clean patio, I got to teach the boys about a season of preparing. It dawned on me that it's my Lenten call.  I have to prepare my “house”...both real and spiritual...because God, as He does, has a gift for me. There are things that need to be organized, cleaned, and even set ablaze, so that I have the room. I want to make my house ready.  No spiritual journey is completely a solo one, but it's on me. There is a season of sweat ahead...but it's the right kind of sweat. I'm ready for the journey.