Yeah, I admit it, I like Lent.  A lot of people don’t, for a whole variety of reasons, some serious and some downright silly.  ”Give up chocolate?  No way!  Can’t I give up broccoli instead?”  A favorite quip is, “I’m giving up Lent for Lent.”

But I like Lent, because it invites people to slow down, if only for a bowl of soup and a short worship service in the middle of the week, to refresh their body and their soul, and maybe connect with some friends.  I know that’s kind of simple, but simple is what Lent is about.

Simple Truths.  Simple honesty about our life, the good and the bad parts.  Simple needs for forgiveness, grace, love, and peace.  Simple meal and simple conversations that simply fill a need in our bodies and hearts.  Simple worship with simple dramas that tell simple, yet profound stories that help us on our simple journeys of faith and life.  It’s very simple really, Jesus reveals God’s love for us on the cross and in an empty tomb, and wants us to receive that love into our lives so that, simply put, we can have life now and into eternity.

But what I’m learning is that for most of our families and individuals, life is not simple.  So many parents just drop off their kids at the church door and pick them up in the parking lot, instead of coming in for a meal, a conversation, and a time for worship to connect with God.  Individuals have so many things going on, either there isn’t time for a little Lenten time off, or, frankly, there are more pressing things to get done.  There is no time in the packed schedules of homework, activities, juggling work and the demands of life at home, to stop for something that is seemingly so simple (not worth the time?).

Yet for myself, not because I’m a pastor, but because I live a packed schedule of work, family, and all of the activities and juggling that entails, if I don’t take the time, make the time for a simple meal and simple conversation and simple worship of the Lord my God, my spirit and soul wither under the pressure of all that is not simple in my life and in the lives of those I love and care about. I need Lent, because Lent helps point me to what I really need, and that is EASTER!