Lent:Prayer

 

The last week of Lent I spent in intentional prayer for my neighbor. Catch up on the conversation and the past five weeks dealing with resources,money, clothing, food and my bed.

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We’ve been taught to fast, to take away, to abstain. We assumed that is what the Lord asks of us. So we cut and trim all the areas of our lives that do not seem pleasing. But bad habits are never broken, they are replaced.

During my time of Lent, a friend asked me the question, “What is the Lord calling you to add to your life?” This is a question that is not asked nearly enough. The Church focuses on “giving up” things for Christ, but the act of being redeemed should call us to add more than give up.

This week I added. After five weeks of abstaining, this was a perfect ending to a very long season. Instead of taking away, I included intentional prayer for my neighbor into my daily life.

It’s easy to fall into the belief that saving the world rests upon our shoulders. As I look around and am reminded how messed up everything has become, from systems to even my own heart, I often respond with the fixing mentality. I try make a ten year plan to eliminate poverty across America. I try to figure out how I can systematically feed all those who are hungry. I try to manipulate others into caring as much as I have learned to care. As you can imagine, none of these work.

This is what I’ve come to love about Jesus, he does not expect us to fix everything. He knows we can’t. He remembers we are frail and insignificant human beings, who often make more of a mess than help.

So why would he show me all this brokenness, without a way to heal it?

I’ve asked myself this question many a times the past five weeks. As I’ve stared my own sin in the face and watched deep compassion rise up for my neighbor, I’ve wondered what the point is. No matter the amount of compassion I have in my heart or how many times I sleep on the floor or eat simple foods, there are still homeless that are freezing to death outside or brothers and sisters that cannot sleep because of hunger pains.

Jesus does not ask me to fix anything, because he knows I can’t. Yet when I finally come to this realization, I’m faced with one hope. The only one who can fix all that is broken is Jesus himself. And that is what this Easter season is all about. It is about the Son of God who came into a situation that was so broken, so messed up and left with no hope and did the most backwards thing anyone could have hoped for to begin to set all things right.

Just like he was 2,000 years ago, Jesus continues to be the only one who can heal things that are broken.

My part is only to follow. I know nothing about fixing all that is broken, but Christ does. While I might not have a ten year plan for loving my neighbor, I do have something far more powerful: The Holy Spirit. I am not called to save, but rather to listen to the Spirit, who is our guidance, and obey.

So what do I do now?

I pray for my neighbors. I pray that God would send people to feed them, love them, treat them with dignity, and share about his redemptive work through words and action. And I trust that prayer does truly make change in this world.

When I see my neighbor in need I respond. When I see a man on the street, I need to stop. It’s easy to throw a cheep hamburger their way, but I’ve learned that love requires more. Some practical action I’ve taken away is first to talk to them. I ask them what they need, hear about who they are, ask them questions and share my time with them. Also, I try to feed them nutritious food, trying to provide them with the nutrients they need. I understand there are times where stopping for an hour long conversation is not an option, in this case friends and I have attempted to keep some protein bars and water bottles with us at all times to hand out to the people we pass.

I advocate. Too often those who are impoverished or homeless come with a stigma. We’ve already written their stories in our heads, using the words: lazy, bad choices, and deserving. Those who I have talked to all have stories much more complicated than that, leaving me to realize how easy it would be for me to find myself in their position. I share these stories, these experiences and these friends I’ve made with people who may have no connection to this community in hopes that their sigmas will fall away and compassion will begin to grow.

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Abby Fennema is a junior attending John Brown University. Her passion for story telling and the written word is what propelled her to help create The Millstone Blog. She believes everyone has a story worth sharing and desires to enable others to speak out. Her favorite things are road trips, camping, and the Colorado mountains.