Lent 3: When nothing seems to be happening

Because we expect Lent to be a time of transformation, we look impatiently for signs of improvement. We want to believe we are getting somewhere. We make demands of God & of ourselves.  But all the while, the seed of grace is planted deep within us, quietly nurtured by time & devotedness.  We will see the fruit of God's work in our lives.  In time.

“The Doubter’s Prayer
by Anne Bronte (1820-1849)

While faith is with me, I am blest;
It turns my darkest night to day;
But, while I clasp it to my breast,
I often feel it slide away...

What shall I do if all my love
My hopes, my toil, are cast away?
And if there by no God above
To hear and bless me when I pray?

Oh, help me, God! For thou alone
Canst my distracted soul relieve,
Forsake it not; it is thine own,
Though weak, yet longing to believe.”