I was planning to pop the question. I had the ring. I had it all planned out in my mind. I was going to ask her Dad for her hand in marriage. Then, I was going to take her on a hot air balloon ride and as we rose up into the sky, two people would come out of the woods holding a banner reading “Will you marry me?” as I got down on one knee. That was the plan. Man makes plans, God laughs.
We were in her college dorm room, having a heart-to-heart conversation about our future together and the moment felt right, so I pulled the ring out of my pocket, got down on my knee and said, “Julie, will you marry me?” Thank God she said “yes” and thank God she is a patient woman, because she patiently waited about 20 years before she finally got to have that hot air balloon ride with me. As we dropped the sandbags that were weighing us down, we rose up with the hot air balloon into the sky.
I think Lent is all about letting go of those sandbags in our lives that are weighing us down, to prepare for that inevitable moment when we will need to let it all go anyway in order to rise from death to eternal life with Jesus in heaven.
During these 40 days of Lent, maybe we drop our screen time, so we can make more time to lift our hearts and minds up in prayer to God. Maybe we let go of the sandbag of chocolate that has literally been weighing us down or drop some pounds by fasting. When fasting this Lent, we are meant to hunger for the one who gave up everything to feed us. And almsgiving. What is almsgiving other than letting go with warm hands now those things we cannot ultimately take with us into eternal life.
Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are meant to help us let go of all those things that we have attached ourselves to that may keep us from ultimately rising up to be with Jesus. When we cling to a thing of this fallen world, we sometimes fall short of the great plan God has for us. The reality is that at some point we need to let go of the created things so we can embrace our creator. So, why not start preparing now during these 40 days?
In the Bible, 40 is a number that symbolizes preparation and strengthening our relationship with God. Moses prayed for 40 days on Mount Sinai. Elijah fasted for 40 days on Mount Horeb. Jesus let go of all his possessions and headed out into the desert for 40 days in today’s Gospel reading.
When they had nothing else, they had everything they needed, because they had God. We, like them, are meant to go out of our way to put ourselves in a challenging situation for 40 days, to grow closer to God. During these 40 days we shift our gaze from what our fallen world says is important and focus on the things God says are important. During these 40 days, may we, like my wife, say “yes” to the one who loves us more than we know and be patient for the day when we will rise with him.