As I mentioned in a previous post, I chose Joyce Rupp’s book–Jesus, Friend of My Soul–as my devotional book this Lenten season. But I did not tell you why I chose it. One of my favorite ideas, which has been referred to by multiple writers, is the idea that God is not who I think God is. The idea being that God is much more than just what I think or know, and that it is so out of line for me to assume I that I am never wrong.
My goal in reading these devotions is to let go of my preconceived ideas about Jesus and try to start from scratch. Who are you, Jesus? is the question I want to ask. I want to ask the question from as fresh a mind as I can possibly give. That fresh mind might be childlike. So, not only do I want to get to know Jesus better, but I want to let go of all the stuff that stands in the way of me doing so.
The above was going to be the total of this post before yesterday, which was Ash Wednesday. The reading for the day in the Joyce Rupp book included the photo below.
That little heart with flames is my own addition. Those “flames” just keep coming up for me. I have found that when something makes me a little edgy, it is worth exploring. I mentioned my feelings about flames and fire a bit in a previous post as well. There is something about fire, flames, brashness, abrasiveness, off-putting, intense (words that seem to go together for me) that turns me off. Is it a fear of being criticized? Is it a fear of judgement? Or is it that I do not want to turn others off? Those are some of the questions I want to ask this Lent.
After my devotional time yesterday morning with the book and those thoughts, I ran across another post on Godspace by Christine Sine. She talked about creating a Lenten altar. I so have a corner in our living room that I consider an altar, but I have never thought about making a seasonal altar. When I thought about what I wanted to include in my own Lenten altar. The image below is what came to me. It is what I want my focus to be.
Do you notice the smudge? Yes, that is very purposeful. I brought my little piece of artwork with to church last night. After the service, our priest gave me permission to add the ashes. In a strange way the ashes seem to glow. I have never thought of ashes as glowing before.
I decided my Lenten altar would be on our coffee table. There are still things I might add or take away, but the framed artwork I did and the candle will stay. I think of it as my Altering Altar.
On a side note, that little cardinal was a Christmas gift. He works well for holding down the pages of books I am reading. But today, he took on more meaning for me. I heard my first cardinal singing even with the house all closed up and snow on the ground. I also saw those flaming red wings. Coincidence? Maybe, but it is worth a little wonder. It did alter my mood!
