Weekend Thought by Faith Marsden

It seems only a short time ago that it was Christmas, but here we are, well into the season of Lent.

We mostly associate Lent with the question: “What are you going to give up for Lent?”

In silly moments, my immediate reply would be house work, but the reasoning is a bit more serious than that.

The run up to Easter, when we remember the amazing possibility of eternal life because Jesus was prepared to die on our behalf, seems to me to be more of a moral and spiritual spring clean.

It isn’t difficult to allow all sorts of things to clog-up our systems.

In our homes, we like to clean out the cupboards, dispose of the items that are past their sell by date and keep only what is usable and useful.

Once the mould has set in, the decay not only affects the item it is in but often permeates to the things around it.

That happens in our lives; little hurts smoulder and become big issues. As they grow, they affect our relationships with others and they block a clear vision of the way ahead. They don’t do our health or our minds much good either.

So maybe we could use this season of Lent to have a big clear out and get rid of the stuff that should have been thrown out a long time ago and release some space to forgive and be forgiven by God and each other.

When the cobwebs are taken down and the dust is clear, the light can flood in. That is the message of Easter.