Lent, Lenten, Lentils
Slowly, lentement, I am learning about Lent.
Lento, lenta, largo.
I used to love it when I participated in it as just a discipline.
It made me feel strong - even powerful.
But I knew I was not doing a "real" Lent.
I couldn't.
Lent was something spiritual.
Lent was something for people who had a strong relationship with God.
For me Lent was a vague echo from the past,
a shadow of a time with solid, well-defined beliefs and passion for a faith.
But Lent was not for Us. Not for those of Us in desolation.
Those of Us with a lento, largo phase of spiritual sensation.
Those of Us with a dull, heavy blanket of fog over our prayers.
Lent was for the mountaintop. Lent was for the humble. Lent was for the faithful.
But those of Us with no strength and little virtue - we found a small shimmer of
goodness in the outskirts of Lent, on the nearby island of Self-Control, where we
rejoiced in the small rays of illumination creeping through the fog.