Lent

So I was sitting in a coffee shop this morning having my usual stare-out-the-window-and -think time, and I couldn’t help but notice something hilarious. Across the street is an income tax joint - you know one of those places that promises the best and fastest refund possible. Being tax season, I guess they must be in full gear on marketing, because they have these poor college kids (and they must be truly poor to take a job like this) standing on the side of the busy road in ridiculous Statue of Liberty costumes.  Seriously - like a choir robe from a trendy church in 1986 with a spiky hat.

I’m sure their job description is pretty simple:  “Smile and wave at cars passing by to draw attention to the business.”  The funny thing is, the Statue of Liberty girl this morning was not smiling or waving.  She was texting - like for a good half hour she was staring down at her phone with her fingers going a mile-a-minute. Its not like someone had forced her into Lady Libertydom - She applied for the job. She was dressed for the part, and was even expecting a paycheck for her efforts - but she was completely distracted by her bff who was constantly lol-ing while they shared omg moments. Meanwhile she was completely oblivious that a texting Statue of Liberty makes even less sense than a smiling-waving one.

A follower of Christ is also curious creature. We have committed to a life that is foolishness to most everyone. Our struggle is that while at some point we were committed enough to put on the costume, as time goes by we forget to smile and wave. We forget to do what we were born to do. We get distracted. A distracted Christ Follower looks foolish in a different and less noble way than a committed one - like a ship puffing out steam and blowing its intimidating horn while sitting still in the harbor. Like a college girl texting on the side of the road in a Statue of Liberty costume.

This is why I love Lent. Lent is when we scrape off the barnacles and put our oars back into the water. It is a time to turn off everything with a switch (if only two year olds had a switch) and sit quietly - staring deeply into His eyes. It is a time for being quiet and reverent, repentant and focused. Lent is when we renew our hearts and prepare ourselves for the celebration of the life and death and life of our King, Lover, Redeemer. Its when we think again about what each of those titles really mean.

During this season, may we all adjust our robes, straighten out our spiky hats, and be who we were created to be - incurable lovers of Jesus.