Ready for the storm

I don't feel ready for lent.

I woke this  morning after a restless night as a storm rattled wind and rain at my bedroom window.  The morning of Ash Wednesday,  the first day  of lent.   I haven't even decided how to observe the fast this year.

I rolled over and buried myself further under my bedding.  Outside the city was being battered by what became a 1-in-100-year storm. 
(Update:  News coverage of the storm and subsequent flooding: click here)

Surely it doesn't matter that I don't feel ready to observe Lent.  Lent  is the time of preparation itself.  The next 40 days are not just about following a particular ritual.   It is a time for focusing. A time of  stripping away the surface stuff and centering on what's  really important.

I've still been  feeling the symptoms of tension from  last month.  As I lay in bed I breathed in and out. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, I prayed silently as I breathed.  Then I opened my eyes, ready for the day, ready for the storm. 

Ready for Lent.

Looks far prettier from above than it does underneath