Right about now we are praying for the snow to melt and the rain to stop. We have endured a harsh winter that has some us still vibrating from snowblowers and all of us longing for spring. Lent has arrived, but it has felt like an endless winter desert covered the earth long before Ash Wednesday. As I reflect on the words of the First Reading (Isaiah 55:10-11), I'm reminded of how God has been flooding my soul this winter.
Winter is one of the hardest seasons of the year for me. From the start I’m hit with anniversaries of loved ones who left this earth too soon. Single ladies, we have survived Valentine's Day without someone by our side as we watch newly-engaged friends prepare for their upcoming Sacraments. My heart can become as frigid as the horizon blanketed in white or I can choose to allow God’s love to melt my icy heart.
I’m often unaware of the sower sowing seeds of longing and fail to see the various forms of water nurturing my infertile soul. Nothing God allows in life is void of purpose, including the cold, dark, and often aching moments a seed spends under of the ground preparing to break through the earth and feel the sun pierce its skin.
Whatever you are longing for from the Lord—a spouse, a child, healing, a job, acceptance to grad school, your child returning to the Church, or a breakthrough—God will not allow that longing to lay dormant.
So, cry out to God; give Him your broken heart and trust His will. Allow Christ’s Sacred Heart to absorb the tears you shed this Lent and await the new life He promises in the Easter season waiting to break through.
Meditate on these Scriptures today: Matthew 6:8, Psalm 34:16-19.
Tricia Tembreull is a California girl with a boundless passion for life. After two decades of ministering to teens and youth ministers as a trainer, ministry mentor, and speaker in Catholic youth ministry, Tricia now serves as Campus Minister at USC Caruso Catholic Center. She loves adventure and seeks it everywhere she goes. As an avid foodie, she enjoys testing new recipes out on friends and family, gathering them around the table to encounter Christ in one another and be drawn to the satisfying unity we crave in the Eucharist. You can find out more about her here.
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