It begins this year on Wednesday, March 9th (Ash Wednesday) and ends on Saturday, April 23rd (the day before Easter). Sundays are considered mini-Easters when we are free to break from our commitment in celebration of the coming victory.
Just for fun, I want to offer daily readings on my blog during the 40 days with a little house cleaning in mind. It's not a typo; I really mean Lint. Annoying, ever-present lint may seem like a stretch from repentance and self-denial. And yet, being a dyed in the wool punster (blame it on my crazy family) I couldn’t resist the idea of exploring the parallels between physical and spiritual lint.
Lint is that collection of dust and material fibers that seem to get everywhere. Even though we diligently clean it from our dryers, pockets, and bellybuttons, it always seems to be back again the next time we turn around. Many people fast during Lent to clear their minds and hearts of selfishness and distraction. We ask God to sweep sin from our hearts to make way for worship and praise to our risen Savior Jesus Christ. So there are many similarities.
We get rid of lint for several reasons. It looks untidy; we de-lint to look presentable to others. Lint can also clog things up, so we regularly clean it from our dryers, vacuums, and equipment so they will run properly. Last of all, lint is a form of dirt, so we vacuum and scrub to keep sickness at bay and vermin from making themselves at home. We clear away spiritual lint for the same reasons: an attractive testimony, to remove anything that hinders our walk, and personal purity before God.
So I hope you’ll join me here for the next 40 days of Lent season for a new twist on an old tradition. I want to be clean and ready for the best Easter ever! Won’t you prepare your heart with me through a search and destroy mission for these five kinds of lint?
• Lint In the Dryer (Spiritual Dryness)
• Bellybutton Lint (At the Center of Things)
• Pocket Lint (What is Hidden)
• Clothing Lint (Appearances) and where would Easter be without
• Dust Bunnies (Deep Cleaning)
I’ll see you here tomorrow for day one of The 40 Days of Lint!
Beth Vice, (c) 2011
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Hi Beth, I must just share with you .. how do I even put this.. how my lint met yours!
ReplyDeleteIt was my 40th birthday on the 4th of March. Today at church, a friend gave me her birthday gift to me. A lint remover. Those sticky roll things you run over your clothes to remove lint. Strange gift. What made it altogether strange is that in the past two weeks, I have at least on two occasions (the second of which was last week Thursday or Friday, so, very recently), noticed this product in the shops, actually stood looking at it and wondering whether I need it or not, and didn't buy it. (I suspect my grammar is getting mixed up here.) I don't really have much use for it, see. Anyway, today when I opened the gift, IMMEDIATELY I sensed God speaking to me, saying that He wants me to get rid of the lint in my life. The little things that have attached themself to me that are hindering my walk with Him, impurities, all the rest. So I phoned my friend earlier tonight to thank her for the gift and to tell her that it is actually, in addition to being a practical gift, a vehicle through which God spoke to me today. And now, I came and sat down in front of my computer to do an electronic payment for someone and thought I'd take a big chance and google the phrase "spiritual lint" - and your blogsite appeared right at the top. So, I will be printing out your lint-series and studying it to hear exactly what God wants to say to me.. I just found this SO incredible. So, thank you. Hannie heard the Lord, you obviously hear the Lord loud and clear, and He truly works - and speaks - in ALL sorts of ways. God bless you in your ministry!
Regards
Sonya Olivier
South Africa
Dear Sonya,
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you what a joy and encouragement you are. Some days I wonder if anyone's reading at all, and then God surprised me with your delightful letter. What an amazing series of events, from your looking at lint removers, to your friend giving you one, to your google search where you found me. God certainly does work in wonderful ways. Thank you for sharing!
Beth