The Novely Has Worn Off ...

Surgical procedures may not be fun, but there's a certain buzz about the whole thing (at least when it's planned and doesn't involve something of a life-threatening nature!). There's the lead up, the hubbub at the hospital, the people fluttering about being solicitous. Then there's the procedure, the discharge, and the sense of having completed whatever needs to be done. And then -- recovery. Which isn't completed overnight but really does take time. Everybody told me this, but now I'm living it. And, to be frank, the novelty has worn off. I'm done. Ready to be 100%. Raring to go. Except, if I'm honest, I'm really not.

Lent can be a lot like this. There was the build up, the anticipation. Then Ash Wednesday and settling into disciplines. But the novelty has worn off. There's still more than two weeks until Palm Sunday. I feel like the kid in the liturgical car who has one question to ask: are we there yet?

The answer: no, we're not.

Which, if I'm honest, is a good thing. I don't know about you, but I know I still have some more reflecting and renewing and repenting to do. Indeed, I'm not sure that the 40 days of Lent will be enough time to do everything I have to do!

So perhaps the novelty has worn off. But what's left is something deeper, something more lasting, a new reality to work with, to adapt to, to live into. Which, when I think about it, is what Lent is supposed to prepare us for.

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