Lenten 2017

I reflected this morning on the writings from The Upper Room Devotional. In this time of Lent, this peice really hit home for me. It is already the second day of Lent, and I've finally decided what I wan to give as my offering and sacrifice. Time.

I've always observed Lent by sacrificing something to help me remember Christ's holy sacrifice for me. But over the years some of my passion for this practice dimmed, and I began to question my motives for observing this spiritual discipline. Does Christ really find pleasure in my "suffering"? I had to acknowledge that the answer was a resounding No! After all, Christ loves me! I feel it in the times that I spend with Him in prayer and petition, sometimes even venting to Him.

Divided between the desire to make a heartfelt offering to God and the ambivalence I felt, I struggled. I yearned to give God what I considered most precious - and with some reluctance, I realized that what is most precious to me is my TIME. Most days I feel I don't have a second to spare. Some days, I have all the time in the world, except, I am not using it wisely.

Committing to give God an hour daily is a genuine sacrifice - but like everything I've given in the past, my time already belongs to God. Those 60 minutes - bowing in prayer, reading the Bible, volunteering, even just being still to hear that still small voice - leaves me stronger and happier. I now share a more intimate relationship with Christ than I've enjoyed in years. During my college years, I encountered this feeling, the intimacy and bond I had with my Lord, and I fell in love with Him, as He did for me. I felt the true love of God for me. The love John spoke of in his gospel. The love that gave us His only begotten Son. That love which saved me of my sins. These past years since I got married and having a child, I feel that I've drifted from that closeness I had with my Savior. I've come to realize, the hour, the minutes, the seconds even the days of what you put your precious TIME in to, grows you to be what/who you ought to be. I guess in the end, I haven't really given up anything after all, because TIME is in God's hands. I've discovered the riches of time well spent in the presence of God. I am reminded of one of my favorite hymns,

Sisu Ke ke ma'u ma'au
'Eku ngaahi me'a kotoa
Taleniti ngaahi ta'u
Fanau, fale moe koloa

*translations* (In my own words of course)
Jesus, take and have it all
Everything that I own
Talents and all my years
My offspring's, household and treasures.

Today and always, the greatest gifts I can give to God is my time. Like the kids Sunday School song, "A little talk with Jesus make it right!"

Wishing you all a blessed day!

All my love,
ATL