The word “Heal” /’he(a)l/ is a verb that means: 1) to make sound or whole. 2) to restore to health - cure, remedy, to patch up. 3) to restore to original purity or integrity.*
Lent, the forty days before Easter, can be a time to prepare for healing. Physically, spiritually, emotionally, we all need to heal in some way or another, all the time. Preparing for the change that comes in healing can take on many forms. Taking out a part of our lives or adding something new can get our “selves” ready for wholeness. Recognizing the disjointed, un-connected aspects of our daily living can be the first step toward asking God to make our lives whole. Asking God to help us re-connect, may bring us one step closer to wholeness.
Contrary to modern definitions, healing does not necessarily mean, “a return to the way things were.” Since God’s task with us is one of continuously creating and re-creating, we are never restored. We are instead made more sound in a different way.
In asking God to heal us, we are asking God to make connections that we cannot make ourselves; giving God a chance to intertwine all the aspects of our lives. God can help us let go of what is sapping our strength, and hold on to what gives us life. Sometimes, when we’re just not able to let go of that anxiety that sits on our chest, (or in our gut), we can invite God to hold that part of us. Imagine God’s hands grasping it. Sharing that uncontrollable angst reduces it’s power somehow. In our spending time in prayer and silent meditation, God can become the base from which we stand and step forward into the big and little tasks of our lives.
Lent is a chance to prepare for the healing power of change that God showed us that very first Easter. A power from outside ourselves. An unexpected conclusion. God’s power works, so that like that very first resurrection day, things are never the same.
Grace & Peace,
