STOP, in the Name of God

five-hand-stop-1024x768This past Ash Wednesday at the St. Paul the Apostle Church, I thought about how Jesus would die at the young age of 33, living a relatively short life. Yet in the desert, he decided to pause and take life at a slower pace. If I knew I would die at age 33, I think I’d be running all over the place, trying to do all the things I’ve wanted to do my whole life, maybe never wanting to stop until I could go no further. However, Jesus actually just STOPPED and prayed for 40 whole days. Why would he do that?

As I searched for that answer, I started asking the same question. If I knew that I had a set amount of time on this Earth, why would I ever choose to sit and stay still if given the choice to do otherwise?

As I pondered this, I stopped to reflect on my own life:

Life has been such a wonderful whirlwind during these past six months, almost to the point where I’ve had little time to just stop, relax, and unplug. Furthermore, I had not relegated any time to deep, meaningful prayer. However, sitting at St. Paul’s this past Wednesday was the first step in the meaningful prayer I’d promised to do this Lent. I reflected about the job I was so grateful to have, providing me with a roof over my head as well as the ability to live an independent life. I thought about the love of my friends and family who have supported throughout my life. I thought about the ability that I finally had to feel like I could truly stand on my own.

Then it hit me: Jesus, even though he faced great temptations in the desert and a decidedly short life, needed to STOP. Maybe he could have chosen another path, but maybe he would have just been an over-busy guy like the rest of us, without time to stop and reflect about life. Maybe he wouldn’t have been grateful for God’s blessings as well. The ability to just stop and reflect this season has been the greatest gift thus far of the Lenten season.

“Remember that you are dust, and from dust you shall return,” means now to me to remember I am blessed with life, and it is short, but as long as I pray meaningfully, life will be better with a grateful heart.