Give something up for a full forty days. With freedom in Christ, don't fast. Lent as "do something good." Back to Lent movement among Protestants. Fast Monday through Saturday and never on Sunday (Little Easters). I have tried them all.
However, inspired by a Holy Spirit desire to follow Jesus' life, not just his death; and a friend's blog November Press post "Active Space"; and Priscilla Shirer's study Breathe, I am rethinking Lent as Margin and Space.
Thankfully, this blog site makes it easy for me to have margins and space in my writing. It's not quite so easy in daily life. I've already wanted to fill up my Lent space by joining an online group who are SLOWING DOWN for Lent (good one!) and follow Pope Francis's idea to fast from indifference, to name just two. No matter what your leanings are denominationally, these are practices worth following, and I hope I will slow down and fast from indifference during my days of Lent, but I also hope those practices will continue in my life beyond forty days.
In her book Breathe (based on a presentation she gave at a women's conference), Shirer uses her research of Genesis 1 to show that God was not tired out and done creating on the seventh day of creation. He was creating; He was creating tranquility, serenity, and peace. He gifted the Israelites with shabbat -- "to cease" -- in order to teach them how to put away a slave mentality. Slaves live fearfully, with a worldview of scarcity, with little joy, creativity, or margin in their days.
I so appreciate what my friend Avo writes in "Active Space."
However, inspired by a Holy Spirit desire to follow Jesus' life, not just his death; and a friend's blog November Press post "Active Space"; and Priscilla Shirer's study Breathe, I am rethinking Lent as Margin and Space.
Thankfully, this blog site makes it easy for me to have margins and space in my writing. It's not quite so easy in daily life. I've already wanted to fill up my Lent space by joining an online group who are SLOWING DOWN for Lent (good one!) and follow Pope Francis's idea to fast from indifference, to name just two. No matter what your leanings are denominationally, these are practices worth following, and I hope I will slow down and fast from indifference during my days of Lent, but I also hope those practices will continue in my life beyond forty days.
In her book Breathe (based on a presentation she gave at a women's conference), Shirer uses her research of Genesis 1 to show that God was not tired out and done creating on the seventh day of creation. He was creating; He was creating tranquility, serenity, and peace. He gifted the Israelites with shabbat -- "to cease" -- in order to teach them how to put away a slave mentality. Slaves live fearfully, with a worldview of scarcity, with little joy, creativity, or margin in their days.
I so appreciate what my friend Avo writes in "Active Space."
"In design, negative space (basically parts of a work where nothing is happening), when used well is called active space. Active because it contributes in a positive and an indispensable way to the overall work. Think of the space in-between letters or words or lines of type. How would your reading experience be without them? Sometimes it’s the space around a logo, the large white space around a single line of copy, that activates the logo or adds the communicative impact to a sentence and contributes to the results for which the designed piece was intended."
The margin and space I am creating during this time of Lent is adding and enhancing the times of my life that are filled. One of those areas I'll be creating freedom in is social media. It's not because I don't love my friends and family. I still like the idea of Sundays being "Little Easter" -- a time when we celebrate -- so I'll check in to celebrate with or pray for those with whom I communicate through the gift of technology. But, giving up that little bit (okay, sometimes a great deal) of time will give me the freedom to create -- either in creating sentences on paper or in creating opportunities for serenity. It will give me time for relationships: with my well and alive Jesus, with others that God brings into my life during this time.
If you want to join in and compare notes, I'll be writing along the way. I know how many good opportunities there are and how many much better blogs there are to read so my feelings aren't hurt if you never read another post this season. Nonetheless, I hope I have encouraged you this day to experience some breathing room in the active space of the margins of your life in order to break free of a slave mentality. Shalom.
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