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ON THE ROAD
March 10-12 Hickory, NC
March 14-16 Sandpoint, ID
March 25 Smyrna, GA
Mar 26-April 8 Kihei, Maui
April 25-27 Plainfield, NH
April 27-29 Bedford, MA
May 7-11 Wheaton, IL
May 12-17 Stevensville, MI
May 24-27 Havana, Cuba
SEVERAL DECADES AGO, a beloved mentor taught me the second-most important prayer after the Lord’s own.
It’s simply this: “Lord, let me be useful to someone wherever I can for as long as I can.”
Like the famous Dorothy of the blue pinafore and sparkly red shoes, there’s no place I’d rather be than home. It’s familiar and comfortable, like a favorite pair of slippers. But sometimes serving others means leaving home and its comforts.
By now we’ve sprung forward, and grownups have adjusted to moving the clock ahead an hour. Parents of little ones don’t have it so easy. As the daughter of a farmer, I’ve always looked forward to Daylight Saving Time.
All of us anticipate the official start of the season on March 20—a bit of a joke where some of you live. As one journalist noted this week, “Spring hasn’t arrived yet, but her plane’s definitely left the ground.” Are you like me, impatiently circling the terminal waiting for her to show up?
Spring hikes here become a treasure hunt as we look for wildflowers native to the Smokies —serviceberries and trout lilies, bloodroot and bluets. In the spring, the Cherokee and settlers alike traditionally searched for fresh greens to supplement their winter diet: creasy greens, dandelions, and branch lettuce. Some still do.
My Lenten search is taking a different tack. I’m hunting for holiness.
Does that sound overly pious?
Christians around the world observed Ash Wednesday last week —the imposition of ashes on a forehead in cruciform shape, a visible sign of our mortality.
Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
Yet as a local rector observed in her newspaper column:
“The most awe-filled aspect of Ash Wednesday isn’t the ashes and focus on death. Rather, it’s the presence and steadfast faithfulness of the One who meets us in the ashes, joins us in the brutality of mortality, and promises new life. This wonder of life and death is fully realized in the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ.”[1]
I’m wondering. . . in your personal faith walk, have you ever wrestled with spiritual doubts and questions? If so, you’re not alone.
Do you have adult children or good friends who once shared your faith but have walked away? You’re not alone.
Are you desperate for unity, healing, and reconciliation in a key relationship? You’re not alone.
If you’re a questioner, you can search to find the answers you seek. But how can you resolve conflicts in relationships if the other person is unwilling?
First century believers in Rome often faced friction, and the Apostle Paul noted that not all situations could be resolved.
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Rom.12:18
If it is possible. As far as it depends on you. Two caveats reminding us that there’s only so much we can do about how others respond to us.
But the good news? God is not holding us responsible for them. His will for us is that we might share in his own holiness (Heb. 12:10).
Does this sound impossible? How are we to obey the command to be holy, even as He is holy? (1 Peter 1:16). Mention the topic to a neighbor and you’ll likely be met with a question: “You mean like 'holier-than-thou?,'” or a joke: “So, does this mean you want to be one of those holy roller types?”
In her insightful book, Holiness Here, my friend Karen Stiller wryly points out the reason we hear so little about the biblical concept of holiness in contemporary Christian practice.
“Holiness has a public relations problem, even within the church. Being holy is deeply associated in our culture with being a pain in the butt rather than a balm to the soul.”
For the next five weeks, I hope you’ll stay with me on what the prophet Isaiah called “the Highway to Holiness”— a journey that has nothing to do with external rule-keeping, but everything to do with personal transformation as the character of Christ is reflected in our lives.
And the best news of all? We won’t do it alone.
“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out.” Romans 12: 1-2 MSG
On the highway with you!
Maggie
GIVEAWAY: If you’d enjoy having a resource to deepen your connection with God as we journey through Lent, I’m giving away a copy of a brand-new release from Our Daily Bread Publishing: Pray Naturally: Finding Your Spiritual Confidence as a Woman Loved by God.
In Pray Naturally, author Rachel Britton thoughtfully explores the prayer lives of fifteen different women from Scripture to help us present our petitions to God in ways uniquely suited to our personalities. If you’re a woman who longs to have a more intimate, robust prayer life, this is just the devotionally rich resource you need.
To enter, please leave a comment below that includes the word LENT or PRAYER. Winner chosen by March 16.
[1] Joslyn Schaefer, rector, Grace in the Mountains Episcopal Church, Waynesville, NC, The Mountaineer 2/22/23