Wednesday, April 4, 2012

A Heart's Reminder


Put things in front of your eyes to remind your heart.

These words—repeated over and over in Martha Zimmerman's Celebrating the Christian Year—have become words I often murmur to myself. Unless I'm careful, when it comes to observing holidays and traditions throughout the Christian calendar, I succumb to the catchy tunes and color palettes of big box stores. It's easy to do. My default mode is passivity. I let things happen to me, rather than create the reality I want to live within.

In my finer moments, I have the courage, strength, and energy to grab a hold of life as I want it to be. Yesterday, I made a batch of these soft pretzels, a historic symbol for the Lenten season. Without milk, eggs, or sugar, they were designed for a time of fasting—their little crossed "arms" assuming the posture of prayer. In a small way, putting them in front of my face (and more precisely, my mouth), pushed me to remember Christ, through whom all things were made. Christ, who brought and end to all my sin and shame.

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