LENT WEEK 1
Haiku Meditation
The ground has rested
A storehouse for things to grow
Fallow but ready
”Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
The ground has rested: Throughout the long winter months, while the ground is at rest, restorative work occurs deep beneath the surface in preparation for new growth. Rest allows for the renewal to come. By design, physical rest is an essential need of the human body. It is meant to play an active role in our daily rhythms which allows the body to rebuild and the mind to refresh for each new day. Without rest, there is no renewal.
Sometimes we need to enter longer seasons of rest which echoe the cycles of nature. Maybe you have been in one yourself. After a difficult season, a traumatic experience, or even prolonged busyness, it’s essential to be attentive to the rest our minds and bodies require for restoration.
A season of rest is not a passive one. Jesus’ invitation in Matthew 11:28 reveals that there’s an exchange between him and us that must occur. It’s only when we come to him and lay our burdens down that our hearts fully receive the rest he promises. His rest re-forms us. When we allow it to inhabit us, our body can literally change. Our muscles may soften, our shoulders drop as tension releases, our inhale may deepen, and the knot in our stomach dissipates.
Just as the soil is restored in winter, a surrendered heart at peace in the person of Jesus Christ is restored and made new. We also embody the act of surrender when we commune with him by receiving the bread and the wine. The surrender of his body inhabits ours and we are made whole.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
A storehouse for things to grow: Our western culture does not value rest but rather prides itself on busyness and having a multi-tasking mindset. We boast about our accomplishments and how much we can get done in a day. We create devices that increase productivity and measure our success by our output. But what if we measured success by our input?
In researching ways to prepare the soil of a garden emerging from winter, I came across this statement,
“Soil is a storehouse for all the elements needed to grow.”
It’s what the soil has stored up within that makes it capable of the beauty that will grow out of it. For the garden, rest equates to a successful blooming season when it’s time. The idea of the soil as a storehouse is a compelling image of how rest is active. It’s a time of input, receiving and storing up what’s needed to continue to grow. Lent allows us to actively enter a season like that, to focus on restoration before a season of growth.
Fallow but ready: We often equate lack of productivity to feeling unsuccessful. However, we must not mistake the fallow season for failure. No matter how long the winter has been, we can trust that God has been doing a good work within us. When we emerge, we’ll be ready.
“Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight, at the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more, when he bares his teeth, winter meets its death, and when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.” C.S. Lewis from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Embodied Prayer Pause: Take a moment to check in with your body and take an inventory from head to toe. What is inhabiting you? Where are you holding some anxiousness or worry? Once you locate it, place a hand there, take a deep inhale and as you slowly exhale, picture exchanging that tension for Jesus’ rest. Stay here and repeat your breaths for as long as you like.
Movement Meditation “INHABIT”
Guided Journal Prompts:
What season have I been in lately?
What daily rhythms are inhabiting and forming me?
What do I need to surrender in order for Christ’s Peace to more fully inhabit me?
What am I storing up in the soil of my heart and life?
PRAYER: Lord, cultivate the soil of my life with all of the elements needed to become a rich storehouse for new beauty to grow. Help me surrender to your restorative ways and make me ready to emerge from the fallow, winter season when it’s time.
Suggested song for the week: “Springtime” by Chris Renzema
