It's Not Supposed to Be Like This!

I just received an email from the iTunes bookstore alerting me to the availability of, among other things, Marvel graphic novels.

Now, I may be showing my age, but let's get a few things straight:

First, they're comic books, not graphic novels (just like the Chevy or VW I might by with 20,000 miles is still a used car, not a "pre-owned vehicle.")

Second, they're meant to be printed on paper, saved in boxes, and then tossed out by Mom so we can discover they're now worth thousands of dollars; they're not supposed to be a bunch of data appearing on my iPad or computer screen.

Third, just because change is inevitable doesn't mean I can't grouse.

Okay, perhaps my first and second rants have little do with Lent but the third one strikes to the core. Lent is all about change. Change in our lives, change in our habits, change in our attitudes, change in our hearts. It's not always easy to change, especially when that change involves repentance. But change we will. Even if we sit back and do nothing, we'll change simply by atrophying. Lent provides a season when we can join with others to begin renewing ourselves, changing our focus, and drawing closer to the One who made us, as hard as it might be to do. Our faith shows us time and again that change isn't easy, that it's often not even palatable - but that it's worth experiencing since it will bring us into a deeper relationship with God and God's creation.

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