Lent can be a time to shake things up in our lives, as it is a period of reflection and penitence.  Hopefully, when Lent concludes with the glorious celebration of Easter, our lives, our faith, our outlook, and our sensitivities are different from what they were on Ash Wednesday.  Lent is a time of transformation.

In her book Unbinding the Gospel:  Real Life Evangelism, Martha Grace Reese offers a suggestion to stimulate that transformation (and it can be done anytime, not just during Lent).  At the end of Chapter Five, she writes, “Let’s try to scramble your patterns!  Change something in your way of interacting with God.”  It is entirely possible to get into a rut in our spiritual lives.  Perhaps the more familiar and well-worn our spiritual practices become, the less impact they have on our hearts and minds. 

Reese offers some alternatives.  If our prayers usually are focused on the needs of others, then, she suggests, we should pray for insight into how we’re selling ourselves short in our relationship with God.  She encourages us to uncover and acknowledge “an old hurt buried in you,” and lay it before God for healing.  Reese nudges us to take up a spiritual discipline we have not practiced before, such as keeping a spiritual journal.

Perhaps we should spend time in meditation, as a new approach to prayer.  She offers the “Jesus Prayer,” and the use of prayer beads as means by which to explore new aspects of spirituality:  be relaxed in your breathing, work a bead in your fingers, and pray, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.”  Repeat the process for each bead on a necklace or other string of beads (even Mardi Gras beads will work!).

Reese says to switch up the music we listen to, or the Bible translation we read – in short, anything that might give us a fresh perspective and new energy for our spiritual lives.

Lent is a great opportunity to take her advice!