shedding

(this one's for you, candy.)

to shed, or not to shed... that was the question as lent came to a close.

the answer: shed.

as i prepared for the lenten season what came to the surface was my desire to go to other things for comfort rather than God. though i don't go to FOOD for comfort the way that i did for 20 years, i still do find comfort in it from time to time... its continued to be my "reward". what always has accompanied it is SHOPPING (usually in the form of gifts for others). this isn't any new revelation. what was new was the recognition that there was still more room for growth. the Spirit urged my soul with the desire to shed this temporary solution for comfort with an invitation to find my comfort in Christ... and Christ alone. so i gave up anything that i sought comfort in.

throughout the lenten season i kept mediating on the phrase: "Jesus Christ shed his blood for you... and with it he washed all of your sins away." over and over again this prayer spilled over my lips and reached into my soul. by the end of those 40 days i found myself in closer proximity with Christ.

the fruit that was ripened over that season was longer times of journaling, mornings blessed with the promptings of the Spirit in prayer on my lips as i awoke, and long stretches scouring the Psalms for reminders of YHWH's faithfulness... examples that he's trustworthy.

as i came into closer proximity with Christ i heard an invitation to take some physical action as a way to respond to Christ's gifts of awareness during lent. an invitation to do some shedding of my own... so i shed the only thing i could think of on Easter... my leg hair. (it's been 16 years for those who were wondering!)

so, it's been an interesting month being free of fuzz. this has actually caused me to reflect more on the gift of Christ's shed blood in my life (not because of niks ~ i still know how to wield a razor surprisingly enough) but because my new found smoothness has served me as a daily reminder that i am a NEW CREATION IN CHRIST.

strange way to grow deeper in that realization, i know,... but this is how the Spirit tends my soul ... with images and invitations.