LENTEN CHALLENGES

As Catholics Lent is a time of reflection, of prayer, of sacrifice, of suffering and of focus toward God.  As Catholics we do all of these things in different ways all year long, but during those 40 days we spend more time really focusing on all of them at once.  There are so many things I like about Lent and this is just one of them.  As a family we try to spend more time focused on prayer and this time last year our priest challenged us to say the Our Father every night with our families.  We still do that a year later and it is not something I realized until Ash Wednesday.  It is so amazing how we just intertwined that into our nightly routine.  Since we started going to our new Catholic school this year we have also added the Hail Mary and the Glory Be.  Our lives have definitely been better for it and I hope we come up with even more new prayers and ways to spend time together as a family in prayer this Lent.  I am challenging myself this Lent to reflect on ways that our new little one can be a part of all of this even though he is young.  As we pray the Rosary together I count on my hand each time we pray the Hail Mary.  I imagine holding his little hand in my palm and helping him count as we pray one by one.  How tiny it is and how big mine will be next to it.  I think about how beautiful it will be.  Adoption is part of the Lenten reflection for me.  Jesus died on the cross and rose again. As the risen Christ he adopted us as His very own.  I am spending this year reading a daily devotion with Mother Teresa.  It is short and always awesome.  It makes you consider how you treat people you encounter each and everyday and she has a lot to say about the homeless, poverty, fatherless, and lonely.  She says it simply and truthfully.  We as God's children are called to help those who can not help themselves.  It is hard to imagine that a year from now our boy will be snug as a bug in his bed sleeping soundly with no fears.  I can't wait for the day that I will breathe the air with him.  As I write this, he is probably being put down for a nap.  He is laying down with a little something on his belly.  He is probably a little restless because there are screaming kids and babies in the room or at least in earshot.  He does not know as he lays there that across the world there is a momma who is missing him and who is praying that his guardian angel will come down and comfort him until she can hold him.  I lift up my desire to bring him home to God.  Jesus endured so much for us, I too can endure this suffering because at the end of those forty days we rejoice in our risen Lord and in the end of this adoption journey there will be a little boy sitting in his momma's lap in Church praying with little hands in hers.  We love you sweet boy and we are getting closer.

Blessings,

Kim