Lent is the forty-day period that precedes Easter which is observed by many Christians. It is a time of spiritual introspection and self-examination that leads to the renewal of our faith and a closer relationship with God. Many of the observances of Lent are similar to those we experience in grief -  reflection, meditation, contemplation, and growth. When we grieve, we look inward. At the core of our inmost being we discover whether our faith is a superficial ornament of life or the essential foundation on which our life is built.

   A few days after Ash Wednesday one year, I was driving along trying to figure out why I was not  attuned to the spiritual disciplines of Lent. As I peered inside my heart, I realized that my sense of disconnection had to do with distractions - the daily care of a mother with Alzheimer’s disease, the demands of business, the persistent state of feeling barely above the water line in my personal and volunteer commitments. My laundry list included many of the things of this world that keep us from diving below the surface of our soul to explore what we have lost and what we have left.

   When we grieve, especially during the Lenten season, sometimes it is sufficient simply to identify and acknowledge our distractions and pray that we may find space within our grieving heart to be still and listen to what God has to say to us about the interplay between the meaning of Lent and the experience of grief. Perhaps we meditate on how grief and Lent are inextricably linked. Perhaps we defer our soul-searching to sometime in the future when a sense of balance and order return to life - when the muddle is less, when we have a clearer view of life, when we can breathe again. There are no rules for Lent or grief.

   Lent is a time that leads us inevitably toward spiritual growth. In the introspection of Lent and grief, we find within our soul expressions of woundedness that are dark and unfamiliar - negativity, cynicism, guarded resentment, protective pride. Lent is a season in which we purge our heart and soul of all that threatens our physical well-being and our emotional recovery from grief. Lent can be a moment of passage in grief as we work to overcome impediments that block the way forward as we seek to reclaim the fullness of life promised by God, "Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy" (John 16:22 NIV). 

   At Lent as in grief, we seek a deeper experience of the grace of God, the love that destroys all our pride. Look within. Listen within. Experience God’s grace as the essence of love at work in our lives, the sacred gift that restores us and makes us whole.

And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen and establish you.
1 Peter 5:10-11