Ash Wednesday

  I can do all things through Christ^[a] who strengthens me.

                                                 Philippians 4:13

 

     Today is the beginning of Lent 2012.   As long as I can remember we have been encouraged to do something during this time.  As a child we gave up things.  Now I like to concentrate on positive things.  Something that will further me along on my journey of life.  If my life was a book that concludes on my death, I want each chapter to show growth in me as a person.  So I think Lent is a good time to write some new, interesting pages.

 

     This year I will focus on Mind, Body and Spirit.  These last weeks have not been kind to the body.  I felt hungry most of the time and even though I tried to keep my diet healthy, a few pounds managed to sneak on my body.  I don't mean to sound ungrateful for plenty of food to eat, but in reality, those pounds have to go.  But more importantly, I need to work on muscle tone, bone density and stamina.  That will be accomplished by moving.  So each day I plan to exercise using hand and leg weights.

   Next is my mind.  I see memory problems around me.   It saddened me this past Monday when my mother-in-law forgot my name.  We've known each other almost forty years.  I knew it was coming, but was shocked it came so quickly.  Anyway, research has learned that flexing your brain helps ward those maladies.  So I have enrolled in a creative writing class on line.  I plan to learn new things about the craft, which in turn will help me write a better blog.

Spirit, probably the most important of my goals.  I will continue to read my devotionals, prayer time will be longer and examining my own spirit with additional reading is part of the change I hope to see in me these next six weeks.  

But as every New Year's Resolution, I imagine I will falter.  There will be days I feel too tired to do all the items on "Improve Mona" list.  But I will continue to turn to God for the strength I need to stay on the path.  And when I fail, I will forgive myself, ask for forgiveness and begin each day anew.  In the words of a fictional character from one of my favorite series, Anne of Green Gables, "Each day is a new day with no mistakes."

Happy Lent Everyone.  And may the "force" be with you as you journey to the final destination, eternity with Christ.