One of our primary goals during Lent is the release of mental, emotional and spiritual baggage. An inexplicable sense of exhaustion or lack of meaning and purpose in life may be the warning signs of an over burdened spirit. Unexpected and irrational anger is also a warning signal we should never ignore. In Matthew 11:30, Jesus said:
"Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
It's easy to go through a whole cleansing process and feel a tremendous sense of relief and lightness of spirit. And then, one day, you realize you've begun imitating a mini volcano, spewing angry fire works at random intervals. And when you begin to pay attention to the running dialog just beneath the surface of awareness, you discover an 'old tape' bubbling up and disrupting your peace of mind.
The first response is No way, I already dealt with that! It's finished! Not. Obviously, the first step must be to release and let it go, again, and feel the vacancy with a wonderful new energy immediately. Then, schedule regular maintenance. Think of it as Spring Cleaning, also known as Lent. Think about the windows on your house--if they're smudged or cloudy, your view of the world becomes distorted. And just because you gave them a really good cleaning back in 1998 doesn't mean that something else must be at fault this time.
Rev. Claudia Naylor
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