How is your Lenten journey going? If you gave something up, are you missing it? If you took something on, have you been able to stick with it?

Four weeks into Lent, it’s easy to abandon those commitments we made on Ash Wednesday, or to start feeling a little self-congratulatory about our own willpower. Maybe it’s a good time for a reminder that these Lenten practices are not about improving ourselves, but about improving our relationship with God. It’s not really about how long we can go without chocolate, or how many mornings in a row we can get up early to read scripture. It’s about noticing what happens when we do without, or discovering God speaking to us in a new way. So, how is it going?

Lent is a long season, but there are signs that the end is in sight: March madness is here, there are green buds on the tree outside my window, and daffodils are peeking up everywhere.

There are other signs that new life is about to break through around here. We’re getting to know our neighbors, through the Wednesday morning yoga class and the upcoming Easter Egg Hunt (which we’re holding in conjunction with the Sunset Hills Neighborhood Association on March 27.) We’re reaching out to our community and world in new ways: last weekend, our youth led two mission projects at Joseph’s House and the Servant Center, and mission trips are being planned for this summer to Washington DC and the Dominican Republic. And we’re about to make a big decision about moving forward with a capital campaign to fund some much needed improvements to our building, which would enhance our growing ministries.

Thank you for the ways you have embraced this season of renewal and growth. There are hard days ahead, no doubt, as we head into Holy Week and the cross that waits. But at the end of the journey, the promise of hope glimmers.

I, for one, can’t wait to see what happens next.