Today marks the beginning of Lent for many Christians. Traditionally it’s a somber time of self-examination, sacrifice and repentance.

This week I was reading an article in The Lutheran magazine by David L. Miller that got me thinking of Lent in a slightly different way.

He says that, “Lent walks us into the paschal mystery of Christ, his movement through death to resurrected life.”

Miller suggests that we also go through this same movement downward toward death and upward toward resurrection over and over again, and that we might use the time during Lent to examine that idea.

He suggests that we first think about what deaths and losses we’ve experienced in the past year.
Most of my losses in the last year or years have to do with aging.
I grieve losing the ability to remember anything without writing it down.
I grieve losing the ability to get down on the floor and the more tricky ability to get back up.
I grieve losing the ability to sleep without my CPAP machine and the ability to travel without it.

What are you grieving? Miller suggests that we allow ourselves time to experience all the emotions that come with loss, but then finally to give everything up to God. Then we can start to claim our new growth and give thanks for the new things in our lives.

Of course, for me, the number one new thing in my life is my grandson, but I have other new things to be thankful for. How about you?
I’m thankful that I’ve lived long enough to see my daughters develop into the beautiful women I’d always hoped they’d become.
I’m thankful that I don’t have to rush out the door in the mornings and can savor a second cup of coffee.
I’m thankful that I have more time to read, to write and to sew.
I’m thankful that I still have the physical ability to take walks every day and the mental ability to learn new things like how to use my cell phone.

Life is a continual process of death and rebirth. Lent is a good time to be especially mindful of that process.