A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness!
-Joel 2:2
Who in their right mind looks forward to Lent? Seven weeks of preparation to lead up to Good Friday hardly seems like an enjoyable way to spend our time.
Why not work on those New Year’s resolutions that have already been slipping instead? How about some more quality time with the family? What good, after all, can come from dwelling on darkness and death for more than forty days?
How about we all just agree to skip Lent this year and just get back together on Easter, okay?
Easter is the good part, really. We just endure Good Friday, but honestly, we’d rather find a loophole if we could to get around it. Who doesn’t like cute new spring dresses, a joyful Easter celebration and the hope that comes with new life, raised from the still-smoldering ashes of death?
But without death, there can be no resurrection.
Without a desolate winter, spring loses its context. Without sorrow, joy lacks its poignancy. Without pain, we cannot embrace healing.
The light will come soon, but for now, live with the darkness. Consider the shadow times of Lent as a necessary backdrop to offset the brilliance of the hope yet to come.
Like the rest of life, if we endure the next few weeks while only focusing on one day in the distance, we look back and find the joy has come at too great of a cost. Instead, let’s embrace the struggle together.
The only way out of the darkness is to walk through it, one step at a time.
Eternal light, I do not ask you to dispel the darkness, but rather to guide me through it as my companion, my hope and my strength.
Christian Piatt is an author, editor, speaker, musician and spoken word artist. He co-founded Milagro Christian Church in Pueblo, Colorado with his wife, Rev. Amy Piatt, in 2004. Christian is the creator and editor of "Banned Questions About The Bible" and "Banned Questions About Jesus." His new memoir on faith, family and parenting is called "PREGMANCY: A Dad, a Little Dude and a Due Date."
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