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Writer's picture: Brandi DiamondBrandi Diamond

The Church is now in the season of Lent, a time for giving up, a time for taking on. If you are observing Lent this year, what does that look like for you? Will you be fasting from a food, a habit, or a negative action? Will you be starting something healthy, spiritual, or practical?


Lent is a time that invites us to see things differently. We have to act like we don't know the end of the story. We celebrate Lent best when we can't yet see Easter, following along like the disciples all those years ago. Lent is dark, filled with questions, somber, and taxing. And yet, when celebrated well, it will change your entire experience with the Good News of Easter morning.


If you haven't yet thought up your plan for Lent, it isn't too late. One can take on the practices of Lent anytime - and hey, better late than never. If you aren't sure where to start, let me make a suggestion. Be committed to the practice of seeing others. Put down your phone. Take a friend to lunch. Look your best friend or your parents or your significant other or a child you love in the eyes and truly see them. Don't take them for granted. Listen.


Elizabeth Gilbert in her book Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage, says, "To be fully seen by somebody, then, and be loved anyhow - this is a human offering that can border on miraculous.” This isn't just true for marriage - it is true in all relationships.


It is a miracle to be seen, loved, appreciated, valued, heard. Why don't we do it more often?


Carlos Whittaker says in How to Human: Three Ways to Share Life Beyond What Distracts, Divides, and Disconnects Us, "I think that the world has a way of knocking us off course. Somehow we get convinced that we need to change, pretend, or become somebody other than our original selves, even if the alteration is subtle and small and changes us by only one degree.”


Every single person you know is carrying a story in their head. Let your words, let your vision, let your intentional seeing help someone else truly feel seen. It is the perfect action for Lent - letting go of our own egos, taking on the commitment to making sure others know how deeply they are loved.




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© 2023 by Brandi Calhoun Diamond. Professional photos by Sarah Baxter Photography. Proudly created with Wix.com

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