Has Lent Started Yet?

I went to visit my mom in the nursing home the other day and I inadvertently left my phone charging at home on the counter.  I was about half a mile from my home when I realized it and debated in my head about going back to get it.

Something you probably don’t know about me is that I hate, absolutely hate, turning around once I have started down the road! I didn’t turn back, but questions started flooding my little brain as I reflected on not having my phone.

What if one of the kids needed me?  What if I needed to report something to one of my brothers about my mom’s condition? What if I needed to search the internet for some important piece of information because of something that might crop up during my visit?

What if I got a flat tire, or got in an accident?

And, perhaps most importantly, I didn’t have my phone playlist available to listen to on my drive in! Okay, I’m just kidding, because a lot of time I just keep the car quiet so I can let my thoughts flow, but I did miss not having my music as an option! 

It isn’t lost on me how dependent I have become on my phone.  As a writer, I often dictate little idea kernels into it so that I don’t forget them.  You might say it would improve my memory if I retained them in my brain, but I don’t think your theory works for me.  I would at least need a piece of paper to write them down, or they might be lost forever.

Anyway, all of this is just to say that Lent is a perfect time to think about whatever we are attached to and consider loosening its hold on us.  Is there something in your life that you have allowed a place of primacy that isn’t worthy of that space?

Only you know what that is, if you make an honest assessment.  And if you really are not sure, maybe you could ask someone close to you if they have noticed you being a little too attached to something.

I hope you have not forgotten at this point what you committed to at the beginning of Lent, and if you never got around to doing so, it really is not too late.

Better to begin today than to never begin at all.

Janet Cassidy

Janetcassidy.com