Just over seven weeks ago I created a shiny new blog called discover lent with me and took the first step of a lenten journey that took me to many significant and unexpected places.  And, though Lent is officially over today (can I get an AMEN!?) I have some final thoughts to share with you about what these days have done for….and to….me, as well as a personal word of gratitude.  =)

I’ve been sitting here for several minutes trying to find the words to describe what it’s been like to write these past 40+ days, and, ironically, words fail me!  But I’d like to try….

I’ve been stretched, I’ve been pushed, I’ve been led, I’ve been empty, I’ve been….so full I couldn’t write fast enough!  I subtitled this blog “a 40 day journey of discipline and discovery”, and I don’t remember those words seeming particularly inspired or meaningful at the time.  But they’ve now taken on such deep and personal meaning, I have to believe God had a hand in this journey from the very start….in fact, I’m sure of it.

I am going to be very, very honest with you now, finishing with the same commitment to openness and authenticity I promised in the beginning.

I really needed this experience.  I had found myself in a desert place, and, though I always knew God was with me, there were many questions and cares that I had allowed to take up far too much space in my heart and mind.  I now know that this crazy idea to “write a lenten blog” was a direct answer to my heart’s cry to follow after God more deeply.  I know this because I have been met by God in such a personal and intimate way with every word- of every blog- every day.  I could not have done this without God’s constant help and conpanionship.  And I am more at peace, better able to pray and worship, and more connected to the Spirit of God than I’ve been in a while.  For me, the discipline has truly led to discovery….praise be to God!

Now, the gratitude:  whether you’re just checking in today for the first time, or you’ve been with me from the beginning (or anywhere in between) I owe you a huge debt of gratitude.  Call me silly, but the idea of people actually reading this blog seemed almost secondary to my purpose in writing it.  But I quickly learned the importance of travelling companions as I began this new, unexplored territory called “blogging!”  And now I cannot, under any circumstances, imagine having taken this road without you.

So…. to my eclectic band of readers – family, friends, aquaintances, people I haven’t yet met (and my Canadian friend!) who have been such good company during these many days and nights of trying to find what it was God wanted to show me for that day, I can only extend my deepest gratitude.  I will truly miss you as I continue to journey with God.

I also want to thank a beautiful soul named Kamina who threw down a challenge for people to “do something hard” to keep her company as she travelled her own road of pain and illness.  That was the initial spark God used to ignite this idea.  Bless you, Kamina. =)

I wish we all could meet at a coffee shop somewhere and share our mutual experiences.  I’ve loved every comment and word of encouragement….and I’d love to hear how you may have heard God too!

I leave you now, my dear, dear lenten friends with the following song by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir.  The clip is a bit rough (over 20 years old now!) but I can’t think of anything that says more perfectly what I take away from these 40 days; every word could have been penned directly from my heart.

Much love,

Shellie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdO2cRXVHII