Walking in the Desert

It's been a solid month but here I am. :) For the curious, I was given two weeks off from this assignment for spring break, and then one more while my advisor caught up on everything. I'm alive and well!

There's a lot I want to talk about today, like I promised in my last entry ... but let's take a collective breath.

We entered Lent three weeks ago. It's always an interesting experience to wake up that morning, make yourself pretty (the Bible tells us that when we fast, we shouldn't do anything out of the ordinary with our appearance), skip breakfast, skip lunch...

And then you'll kneel at the altar in a little basement chapel off campus before your best friend makes a cross of palm ashes on your forehead. Ashes...we started out that way, some say, and eventually we'll end up that way again.

Nothing is permanent. Life is fragile.

"Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel," your friend tells you as she finishes marking you. You're now of a crowd, students and faculty and staff all with little smudges on their heads. But it's a sign to the rest of the world that we've chosen to set ourselves apart and start a journey.

It always chills me a little. Can you blame me? Jesus walked through the desert for 40 days, starving and tempted, to strengthen His resolve before beginning His ministry. Now, as we wait for Easter, we're called to the same experience -- to enter the desert and come out stronger.

Seriousness aside, in general Lent is a period of introspection, reflection and self-discipline. Most people make some sort of sacrifice, or pick up a new, positive habit.

For me, that means getting eight hours of sleep every night, no matter what. I'm infamous for keeping insane hours, and it's not uncommon for me to turn in around dawn. Naturally, it was messing up my physical and emotional health, and change was necessary.

Three weeks into it, I'm amazed at how much better I feel in the morning. At night, I've learned to manage my time so all my work gets done while leaving room for some reading. "Me time."

Every year, I take away something different from this season of the Church year. Some years are more intense or less successful. This year, I'm learning to be committed to the goals I set. That carries over to my spiritual life, too.

Here's a great song about what Lent means in Catholicism, sung by Matt Maher. I'm going to see him in concert tonight. Look out for a review next week.