Making Space for Wonder, Making Space to Grow

"Mom, can I get a new pair of shoes?" came the young boy's voice from a few aisles behind me in the store. The mother must have agreed that he could use a new pair, because her answer was, "If they don't cost too much."

Since I happened, at that very moment, to be standing in front of a shoe display with a "70% off" sign posted above it, I assumed the boy might be getting those new shoes. And, out of the corner of my eye, I watched as the mother had him try them on and then, of course, carefully squeezed the toe area of the shoe to make sure there was "wiggle room" and room to grow. Even a bargain pair of shoes had to allow a bit of extra space.

When we are young, we do a pretty good job of making space for growing, making space for wonder. The adults around us are big helps in this regard, insisting that we have naps or quiet times, insisting that we wear clothes that are a bit loose until we grow into them.

But when we ourselves are adults, we sometimes forget the goodness of keeping a bit of extra space in our lives, extra space in schedules, in the amount of our possessions, in our budgets, in the structure of our daily lives. Sometimes we may discover that we feel empty inside - nothing is growing and changing; there are no sparkling moments of wonder.

Thankfully, we are designed to always keep growing inwardly and in relationships, and to thrive on occasional experiences of wonder. It's part of what makes us human, and part of what makes us God's creations. Sometimes just opening a little space in our lives lets us do that growing and wondering we need.

Lent, which begins next Wednesday, February 22 - Ash Wednesday - is a season for making space in our lives. Some people do that by "giving up" something for Lent - something that takes some daily focus and energy, so that the focus and energy can be ready to be more easily shaped by God's Spirit. Some people do that by "taking up" something for Lent - perhaps attending more fully to an important relationship, sharing in a Bible study, practicing a new form of daily prayer, or learning about and offering a contribution to a helping agency.

We'll begin our Lenten observance with our 7:00 PM worship service, and the touching of ashes on our foreheads that declares we are human, mortal, and always in need of God's forgiving love and newness in Christ.

We'll continue the first weekend in Lent with a special seminar, led by Rev. Amy Delong, that will help us examine how we welcome or close the doors to God's people in our world. Rev. Delong will be our preacher for our Sunday services on February 26.

This Lent, may we make space in our lives so that God can do "a new thing" in us.