40 days of Lent: A Spirtual Journey -- Day Four

The Assignment for Day Four reads, "Make time today for the one you love and for God.  Each minute is a brick in your life's bridge, not only over troubled waters and loss, but to million cherished memories."

Memorey Bridge by Leslie Allen

I had a tough time with this one.  The directive to make time for the one you love assumes that you indeed have someone to love.  Being single, and having been so for a very long time, how does one make time for the one you love?  Then the "aha" hit as I realized my presumption was that the it was my interpretation of who the one I love should be.  And of course my belief was that the person was someone other than those already in my life.  It presumed that it was someone out there who I should be in love with.  What I didn't realize was until later in the day that it could mean many other people or things.  

The one that I love could be those already in my life.  And there are many, many people in my life who I truly love.  However, as the Wizard said to the Tin Man in the movie, The Wizard of Oz, "A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others."   And then is when I began to see the true meaning (at least for me) of today's directive.  The one you love can be...yourself.

It was another epiphany.  With that realization, it became clear that each moment is indeed a brick in my life's bridge to millions of cherished memories.  I only need to remember the people who have been in my life either in the past or present, to know each has inspired memories of good times and some bad times, but ultimately times where the love we shared came shining through.  Those are the bricks that build a life.  

So again during this journey of fasting, praying, giving and preparing, the clear message is to be mindful.  Creating memories is a craft.  Today for some reason I kept thinking about my grandfather who died many years ago.  I remember his kindly smile, his quiet presence and his way of supporting my grandmother, my mother and me without ever giving it a thought to do otherwise.  I remember his jaunty way of dressing and shy way of speaking.  I remember picking blackberries, pears and apples with him in his backyard and going to see The Ten Commandments, just he and I one Saturday matinee.  Those are my bricks.  

And so today I became aware how important it is to create memories each moment of every day and to love not other others, but yourself as well. And so, let it be.

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For Tomorrow, The First Sunday:

Sundays are actually "in" Lent but not "of" Lent. Sundays aren't counted in the 40 days because Sunday is always a "little Easter." 

Try shouting for joy somewhere, sometime tomorrow because it’s a "little Easter."