Grandma Kofink asked me whether there would be services at church that night, Ash Wednesday. I told her yes, and she asked if there would be Lord’s Supper. Again I said yes. She asked, “Can I come with you?” That was an unusual request because Grandma didn’t go to church very often. There was something about that day, the beginning of Lent, that spoke to her. “I need to be at church today.” So strong was urge that she came to every Wednesday service that Lent. If I remember correctly, it was the year we had the film strip series, “How the Bible Came to us.”

When I was in active ministry, I didn’t look forward to Lent. It meant a lot of extra work. Being retired has made more welcoming of Lent.

For centuries the major emphasis in Lent was on repentance, being sorry for your sins and changing your life. I’m all for being sorry for sins, but it’s changing your life, deepening the relationship with God, that really matters. What? At my age? I’m too old to change. Nonsense. If my grandmother in her 70s could decide it was important to walk (hobble and wheeze is closer to the truth) to church every Wednesday for an entire Lenten season, most of us can accomplish more than we think for our relationship with God.

Don’t think about Lent as a time of give ups. Think about it as a time of add ons. Give it some thought. There are 39 days plus six Sundays left to this Lent.

Wayne