It's the little things... salt

Lent 2023 - Part 1

How easy it is to get overwhelmed by big things. Right now, here in Aotearoa, we have been swamped with big. Rain, wind, floods, slips, destruction, homes destroyed, lives lost. It’s bewilderingly. There is grief and disbelief, bewilderment and anger, despair and suffering. We are not the only ones coping with big right now. In Turkey and Syria the recovery from an earthquake with such a huge loss of life continues. In Ukraine a war that has raged for a year continues. Covid which started a pandemic continues to spread. In the face of all these big events we can feel lost and adrift. To offer prayers at this time can feel trite. We hear people ask what can thoughts and prayers do?

This coming Wednesday, Lent begins. Lent is a traditional season in the church calendar where Christians set aside time and resources for a period of spiritual renewal. It’s a time where Lenten disciplines and practices help us draw closer to God.

Prayer is one such practice. Over the next few weeks we’ll be focussing on little things in our virtual prayer room Jesus spoke often of little things in the Gospel. We’re going to find some of these things in the Bible and use them as a springboard for our experiential prayers.

When confronted with big, daunting challenges, it is grounding to focus on little things. There is power in the small. When big things happen, we are often powerless to do anything except deal with small things. What can we offer in the way of support to others in times of need? Small acts of kindness and support have bigger impact than we realise.

Praying feels small. Yet we can find comfort ourselves in praying. These prayers don’t remove us from the impact of any of the big things going on, but they help us cope with the challenges we face, and they offer us time to connect with God.

Here’s a couple of prayers using salt.

May you find hope in small things.

May the peace of God be with you this Lenten season

On the journey

Caroline