Guest Post by Jamie Nguyen- On Lent For Others

My 15 yo, Taylor, began physical therapy for her injured shoulder this week.  Her physical therapist began small talk with her, which lead to a conversation about Lent.  They each exchanged changes they would be making to their daily routines, in hopes of making more time for reflection in their spiritual lives.  The receptionist in the office overheard their conversation and let each of them know she would not be making any changes to her daily routine.  She told Taylor that last year "she got nothing out of participating".  Taylor responded by saying, "Isn't that the point?"

I probably would have just nodded to the woman's response, but Taylor's question took my breath away, honestly.  Taylor elaborated her thought to me by explaining, "We feel we constatnly need to be getting something out of everything we do."  I have been thinking about our conversation ever since. 

Are we praying to receive? Yes.  I have prayed in order to receive.  Worse yet, I've prayed with the idea I deserved to receive.

So this Lenten season, I have decided to pray differently.  I am going to pray as if it is a prayer being said by another mother, sister, wife, daughter, friend.  I am going to pray with the idea that someone else knows my sadness, my short comings, my loves.  I am going to pray alongside my brothers and sisters not for results, but for relationships.  Because God cannot be anymore tangible to each us than He is when we are building relationships with others.  Relationships that come from different backgrounds, different religions, different cultures, different traditions, different futures.  Differences make us individuals, but relationships make us whole.  That wholeness, with all it's brokenness and frailty, is the embodiment of God.