Lent 2015

Great Lent for Orthodox Christians

ended this past Friday.

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I've written how for me personally

it was a Lent that was a bit easier - 

usually Lents for me in years past have

either had sickness, high stress or personally

devastating news on one level or another.

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Of course I have things in my life that are unbloggable,

like we all do, but overall, things were a bit lighter this year for me

during Lent.

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I don't expect it to be this way forever or even for long;

I always remember in the book by Fr. John,

Christ is in our midst

where he wrote basically 

to prepare for hard times when times are good

and to know that a more peaceful time 

will come after a difficult time.

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I've found that in my life God gives a period of rest after

a difficult time and often esp. before a future difficult time.

When I was young I found that I thought life

got easier (when it was actually a grace period to rest in,

to be strengthened) because I was obeying God better in some form.

Now I know that while obedience to God does impact

our lives in life-giving ways, 

it does not at all preclude suffering.

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One thing I have noticed about this Lent in particular,

and it was the same for my sister-friend still in Ottawa,

and that was the number of deaths of people who were

either close to or family to people we love.

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It seems it's almost been everyday for me lately,

either through my blog friendships, church family, my 

biological family or extended group of friends from the various

places I have lived.

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I also have friends who have severely sick friends or family

or sudden job loss.

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This past week alone 3 new people, two very sudden and tragic 

died; family of friends of mine, each of them.

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If you count since January Christmas, the number of people 

who have died is nearing 15 souls or so;

those who died were all individuals who were close to 

someone who I know in person or who

 I either read a blog regularly to the

point that I think of the person as a blog friend;

all of the ones who died were extremely significant

 in the lives of my friends.

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It's been heavy that way.

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That's why I blogged the poem last Friday.

It just seemed like the only thing I could do,

other then light many candles at home and seek to pray.

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Well, we go through many sufferings in life;

all I know and see is that God wants to be with us

in the middle of our lives and with us in the pain that we 

carry with us and the suffering we do go through.

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May God have mercy on us and carry us through Holy Week

and to His Most Holy Pascha.