Having a Plan - 7 February 2008

Well you’ve made a good start! You’ve come back here to read this (if any one has…) That means yesterday’s diatribe did not put you off and maybe you are game to go a bit further with this Lent stuff.
Right! Where to start? If you would find it helpful to have some support in your journey you could go to a Lent group where you might meet like-minded folk, or you could find someone you trust to talk through your dreams. Or if that is too much at this stage, find someone you can pray with and just pray together regularly. You will find as your confidence increases you can then talk about what is really on your heart. The important thing is to commit yourself to someone else so that there is an obligation: that way there will be accountability that will enable you to sustain the hard times that real visits to your inner spirit can yield. For we are very good at using sound and visual things to drown out the quiet desires of the heart (and the quiet words of the Lord!).

But when we really do start to listen to ourselves the first thing that seems to come out is disappointment with one’s life. The down times always seem to dominate that first excursion into oneself, so that’s when we give up – and not surprisingly. It is not pleasant to be reminded of those things. But persevere. This is where I found the long walk helped. On the way out on your walk, go through those times in your life. Trace them back or forward from your birth. Think of your parents, your school, your friends, your aspirations, your disappointments, your unhappy moments, loneliness or sadnesses. Then when you’ve done that, on your walk back home, go back over your life again, this time deliberately highlighting the good things, the happy times, the high points in your life. You will find then surprising things that made you happy, and it will encourage you in your spiritual journey.

And you will have started well.