As mid-February takes us from Friday the Thirteenth to Valentine’s Day to the Lord’s Day to President’s Day to Mardi Gras to Ash Wednesday…each day might feel like an emotional rollercoaster with thoughts of human love, divine love, love of nation, celebration, bad luck, mortality, and the journey of life.  This continual shifting of gears prepares us to greet the Season of Lent once again while the annual wrestling match between winter and spring intensifies.  We might also benefit from greeting some thought-provoking questions to accompany us on our forty-day journey from Ashes to Easter.

Those who join me on a Lenten mini retreat will ponder pensive queries like these: 1) What are some indicators in your life that lead you to believe in God and what are some reasons you might doubt God’s existence?  2) When you look into the mirror of your soul, what do you most like and what would you most want to change?  3) How do you want to dedicate your remaining years on earth and what legacy do you want to leave to those who’re most important to you?  4) Where is the intersection point of what you (with your unique interests and talents) most want to do and what the world (your community) most needs to have done?  5) How do you want to live differently in the forty days of Lent?

The season begins with Christians getting smudged with dirt on our foreheads and a reminder that we suffer the human condition which ends in earthly death: “ashes to ashes and dust to dust.”  It continues with the famous story of Jesus, our Savior, spending forty days in a desert facing demons.  We, likewise, are encouraged to face our biggest obstacles, fears, and anxieties; we’re challenged to name them, claim them, and tame them.  I suspect everybody has some demons, as do many families, institutions, and nations.  Some are verified by those who face daily hunger or powerlessness against a strong aggressor or societal maladies.  But many demons are imagined.  Millions of people combat anxieties that could be diminished or dispelled if dealt with properly and prayerfully.

Philip Philips’ 2012 hit song, Home, speaks to this challenge.  The lyrics (abridged), “Settle down, it will all be clear—don’t pay no mind to the demons that fill you with fear.  Though trouble might drag you down; if you’re lost, you can always be found.  Know you’re not alone, for there’s a place that is your home,” comfort us to recognize that God is with us, that others care about us, and that we don’t have to face our perils alone.  They are good words to accompany us in this sacred season of preparation, penance, and prayer.  And they are a good compass that can turn us from focusing upon ourselves in negative ways to improving ourselves for the sake of others.

I see many people scramble around daily, concerned about or fearful of real or imagined demons, from ecclesial monsters to liturgical police, IRS regulations, ICE enforcement, potential lawsuits, what politicians spout, or what social media spreads.  Some who are reactive will fall into outrage or despair while some who are more proactive keep their eye on the goal and find paths to maneuver through obstacles till they re-gain stable thinking and processing.  With an attitude like Boy Scouts who are always prepared, and an attitude like Saint Paul who was oriented toward the finish line and who viewed heaven as our true home, and an attitude like Jesus who constantly reminded His followers that fear is useless and what is needed is trust, we should pay no mind to the demons that want to fill us with fear or the obstacles that get in our way.  Let’s settle down to begin the Lenten journey as we continue traveling a road of faith and head toward the place that is our true home while contemplating questions that might help us map out the path that will take us there.