Seasons of...

...no, not love. Though, as I write that title, the song comes into my head loud and proud, and I might have to play it while I write this entry. (only to go look for it and see that it is not in my iTunes. How lame is that? I need to find it and put it on there)

But, back to my original thought.

Seasons of...

Learning.
Giving.
Working.
Thinking.
Contemplating.

Today marks the first day of Lent. For whatever reason, it is 40 days long and leads into the day and season of Easter. So what is Lent?

40 days. To do what?
Learn. Give. Work. Think. Contemplate.
Learn about yourself. About Christ. About the world around you.
Give to the community that holds you.
Work on yourself. On your faith.
Think about your life.
Contemplate the journey to the cross.

Don't yet jump the gun and think about Easter. Take some time to sit here, right now, at the beginning of this season. Sit in the journey ahead. Don't jump to the finish. Don't leap over every meaningful thing before the sunrise. Don't forget that before the end, there was a story, a road, a mile of tests.

Sit here with the unknown.
Sit with the confusion.
Sit in the despair.

Sitting in this season and all that it means only heightens the awareness at the completion of it. The end truly becomes a new beginning when it is seen looking forward and looking back, but if you miss the journey there, you have nothing to look back on.

I hope you sit for the next 40 days.

Before therapists...

What did people do before therapists?

Part of this comes from my own experience, but this question really just has me thinking about community in general. I mean, when did it get that we couldn't share all of ourselves with people around us? I understand that some things are truly big, and I don't think some things should be thrown on top of just one person, because that is not fair, but I feel like it is this idea that keeps so many people hiding things.

When only therapists should hear the big things, or the serious things, it means that people around you aren't aware of what is going on deep inside you, and sometimes, that deepness is actually the essence of who you are or is at least reflective of who you are. Do we think of that? By having to go to the therapist for every BIG thing, we are hiding our essence from those around us. Again, some things are truly deep, and maybe are sensitive, and of course not for public consumption. But what happened to friends that know everything? What happened to being able to be truly authentic with people?

Why is the response to "go find a therapist"? And not, "This is bigger than our friendship/relationship. Is there someone with which you are more comfortable or who knows you better to talk to?" Again, some relationships are legitimately not the right space. You do not go to a professor and talk about relationship problems, and you probably don't go to your child's teacher to talk about feeling depressed. BUT, you might go to your pastor or mentor about being depressed, and a close friend about the relationship problem. Why are some secrets supposedly too dark/much for people? Clearly the person dealing with it is not a therapist, so why is it that only a therapist can help with that?

There are certain situations that I would deem out of my comfort zone. That unless it was with a few of my close friends, I would not be equipped to handle it, but for my close friends, I would do anything and everything I could in whatever situation. It's just a thought.

The therapist is not the answer to the world's problems, people. Relationships are. Get back to true community and openness and watch things change around you. When you can sit together with another person in brokenness, it is one of the most beautiful experiences that exists.

Brokenness is what God wants to heal. In those moments and in that space is where God works. God *is* in the wounds, and the scars, and the tears.

It is the broken body taken at communion, not the whole, perfect, complete body.

Ponder that.