Beloved in Christ,
 
We’ve had much on our plates during Lent. I hope you have felt the presence of the Spirit with you in all that you’ve let go or all that you’ve taken on for the season. My Lenten practice this year was to not work on my computer after dinner. At first, it was really hard and I missed the time to get a few more things done for church. Sometimes at the start of the season, I would delay dinner so I could work a little later or eat on time but then get up extra early the next morning to do a few things that I didn’t do the night before. However, eventually I found a new rhythm and I found that I look forward to closing the laptop and not opening it again, often for 12 hours at a time.
 
I wonder if you’ve noticed a similar rhythm if you’ve tried out new spiritual practices or ways of coming to awareness of God’s Spirit with you this season. Perhaps it even was that way for you with the practices we learned during worship. At first, it might have seemed hard and maybe even something to resist and find a way around. In the fullness of time, I hope that you were able to relax into the rhythm and trust that God holds all of our practices and all of our productivity or lack of productivity.
 
As we turn toward Holy Week and the expected and unexpected ways that God shows up in the ancient stories we rehearse this week, may we trust that God holds it all for us with grace and love.
Pastor Laura