Rest.

I’ve thought long and hard about what to do for Lent this year. Lent has been a new concept to me since college, but I have deeply fallen in love with it. I’m always up for a challenge, a to do list, a self-improvement. And the even better part is it’s about more than that. It’s about setting your heart and mind right to prepare for a Savior we don’t deserve, but comes anyway. He comes in the good times; He comes in the difficult times; He comes in the times we are moving; and He comes in the times we are still.

The last 3 years I have written a letter every day during Lent, recognizing different people in my life for the impact they’ve made. But now that appreciating influential people has been further ingrained in my DNA, I knew this year was time for a challenge. I need something to really shake me up. This is where my “New Years resolution word”, soul-stretching, came flooding back. I’m taking this upcoming season as a chance to remind myself of why I chose this word. I would even say I didn’t choose this word; it was given to me. I was scared to say 2017 would be full of “soul-stretching” because I didn’t know what that means and it sounded hard. But life needs those challenges. We must be uncomfortable in order for us to truly listen and truly care and truly love.

It was through a dear friend that I came to my resolution about Lent 2017: Rest. Starting at a minute on March 1 and growing by a minute every day until Easter. In the midst of endings and beginnings and some in-between, I don’t want to lose sight of what I’m doing, what I’ve worked so hard for. I refuse to let life pass me by because I’m tired. I refuse to let an opportunity pass me by because I’m distracted. I refuse to let my life be anything but my best because I’m unprepared. Here’s to a season of rest in preparation for all that is to come.