March Journal, Fourth Sunday in Lent, Rose Sunday, Laetare Sunday

I received a powerful endorsement for my new novel (to be published one day…), The Music of the Mountain:

“How do four extraordinary Americans – an elderly Anglican priest, a fired UC Berkeley professor and two of her former students who lost jobs for standing up to the Left – execute a plan to beat the authoritarian, book-burning California regime? The four characters are richly described and have diverse life experiences. They all love freedom and recognize they must stand together against the tyranny of the state. The development of their Christian faith is a key part of the tale. Gripping in places, it is the kind of a book you will be sorry to leave when it is finished… a compelling story, beautifully written…”

—Michelle Easton, Chairman of the Board, Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women

Each endorsement is unique, reflecting the insight and life of that particular reader, one of the themes of the novel. For we are all uniquely different, and are blessed with talents that no one else has. It is our job to discover them, to journey through this life in the light of God the Creator of all. And so we say with the Psalmist, “show us the light of thy countenance upon us and bless us.” For without that light we wander in the dark.

The seasons of the Church, the Bride of Christ, sing to us with the light of Christ. We enter each unique season to discover who we are and who we are meant to be. We follow the days and weeks of the Church Year and try to be faithful stewards of the light we have been given, sharing that light with others to show them the path to joy.

Along the way, we learn to love.

And the challenges we face, the sufferings we endure, we offer up, as they say, knowing we do not need to face these difficulties alone. For He is alongside, always, transforming, enlightening, redeeming.

Recently we faced a challenge in our home: rats in our attic. I mean, literally, a major infestation of rats. For two days professionals climbed into the space, cleaned it out, disinfected it, and replaced all the insulation (yes, the rats made nests of the insulation). The workers wore what looked like space suits and goggles. Yikes.

It’s a metaphor I cannot resist: we too are infested; our spiritual attics need cleaning. Lent is a good reminder to shine a spotlight on the soul – to take stock, clean, and disinfect with confession, repentance, absolution, and the love of God.

So this endorsement came at a good time, amidst the chaos of our home. And now today, on this Laetare (Rejoice) Sunday, we sing with the Gregorian introit: “Rejoice ye with Jerusalem and be glad for her, all ye that delight in her…”

Within the artistic beauty and poetic rhythms of the Church we prepare for our redemption on Easter’s Resurrection Day, moving into Passiontide and Palm Sunday and Holy Week. We sing and we dance the liturgies and tell the story once again, the story of who we are and who we are meant to be, children of the Father. We read the poetry of the Gospels and the Psalms and we place the words in the baskets of our hearts, tender and beautiful words that render Eternity in our moment in Time.

For you and I are works of art too. We are poems, plays, and melodies, notes of that heavenly music, each one given a part, to sing with our lives. We endorse one another with ourselves, stepping through our own time given.

Every word counts. Every note counts. Every life counts as we near the promised pinnacle, the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ, and our own resurrections too.