Lent Reflections

There was a visit to the chiropractor yesterday.  My neck has been out of whack for weeks.  Sitting in the chair with the tens unit attached to my neck and shoulders I close my eyes.  Becoming aware of my breathing I listen for the voice of the Lord.

I don’t know Rachel Evans, she was a link on Ann’s sidebar.  But the question from her 40 Ideas for Lent (2012) post stopped me cold…

“When I wake up on Resurrection Sunday morning,
how will I be different?”

What am I doing today that will challenge me to be different?  Different every day.  Not just different but more like Christ in my daily walk.  I reflect over the last two Lent journeys, Lent? and Illuminate.  Both helped me be more intentional, focused on Christ and his sacrificial gift of love.   I question myself, have they left me different? 

The stimulation causes the muscles in my neck to contract and relax.  I feel spastic as I have no control over my own muscles.  It is painful and beneficial all at the same time.  When I don’t put off coming for the adjustment I stay more aligned and have less daily pain.

I have been reading a book on meditation and it comes to mind.  Every time I try to meditate I can’t quiet my mind.  I strive to push away the thoughts that bombard me.   It is a struggle to focus, to be silent, to listen for the Lord’s voice. 

Leaving the chiropractor’s office I am sore and even a bit weak.  The afternoon is spent with ice and ibuprofen.  This morning I awake with less pain and more mobility.  I perform the exercises the chiropractor gave for working out the kinks.  It is a routine that if followed daily keeps my neck working properly. 

The cycles of the believing life – they draw into deeper intimacy with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  God is here in this moment, in every moment, it is just the slowing to reflect on that truth, to listen to His presence now.  It changes me slowly, helps keep the kinks worked out.

The verse I am focusing on for this year is never far from my mind…

“And we all, who with unveiled faces reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”  2 Corinthians 3:18