A friend challenged people to add something God-honoring to their lives this year, rather than (or in addition to) giving something up. She said, "I invite you to take 15 minutes each of the next 40 days of Lent and find a quiet space, turn off your phone and other electronics, and sit in silence with God."
The 15 minutes part is fine.
The quiet space without distractions works, too.
It's the "sit in silence" part that is causing some distress.
My brain is never silent. In my attempts over the last week or so, I have had to shush
- songs (I watched Les Mis recently and the songs won't leave me be)
- blog ideas (I try to just jot them down to get them out of my head)
- whole blog posts
- lists of things I keep forgetting to do
- clock watching
- wondering how other people are managing with this "silence."
- wondering just how weird my brain is because this is so hard
- more clock watching
- conversations I've had or need to have
- lessons for writing club
- even more clock watching
- the schedule for the rest of the day or week
My mind refuses to be still. I've tried writing scripture verses to give me something to focus on, but my brain still wanders off. I am hopeful that this discipline will pay some sort of dividend by Easter. For now, I feel great relief when the 15 minutes are finally done and my brain can rev at full speed without guilt!
Speaking of Lent, my church has been posting Lenten meditations for the season. If you check today, you can see my post for Friday the 18th.
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