Lent

It’s Easter Monday.

Lent 2008 is over, and there are 8 people who are sorry that it is done.

That’s ironic, as Lent is about giving something up, so we always think, and we ought to be happy when we can take up what we gave up. These 8 people, however, discovered that by giving up time, by giving up privacy, by giving up control of their lives, they changed.

In a real sense, they gave up who they had been and became who they are. They built new relationships offline as well as online. They thought about what their lives meant, and have deepened. They discovered that people you have never seen, that you never heard of two months ago, can be part of how God changes you.

In our conversations about the end of this project, which has to end because it was about a season, these writers are wanting to keep writing, these seekers after God are wanting to keep seeking, together. We don’t know exactly what the next project will look like. (We’re pretty sure that there will be an ebook coming out of this project).  When we find out what’s next, we’ll let you know here and on our individual blogs.

I’ve (Jon) been pretty invisible during this project. I posed the questions and themes at the outset and set up the schedule. I’ve been touching up spelling at times and reminding people about schedules.  What I haven’t done, much, is comment.

Here’s why.

I have a tendency to explain too much, to think too much, to interpret what people are saying too much. As this project developed, it was clear to me that I was not in charge. As you read through the posts each week, written by people who usually hadn’t read what others were saying about the same theme, you can see that there was an Editor-in-chief for this project. And so I got out of the way.

Rob and Anna and Connie and Laurie and Thomas and Amy and Tom: Thank you for the number of evenings during the past 6 weeks that I and many others sat in silence, awed and humbled by your willingness to share your struggles in this journey of obedience. I frequently touched the keys on my keyboard gently as I posted, so as to not disturb the fragile balancing of your life and words and feelings.

Those who have read and commented and allowed words here to help you think and feel and converse with God and others, thanks for coming along.

And God, who guided and inspired and redeemed and strengthened these seven friends of mine through illness and chaos and struggles inside and out, who is three and one and three and one and three and one and…thank You.  You whispered “share” and then You whispered names.

As usual, You knew.