A Lenten reflection by SSJ Associate Gretchen Durney

​A dear farmer friend once described seed starting in the spring as a sense of hope. Seeds or seedlings – she said there’s a future for them and she is just a grateful participant in the process. She described it as her favorite season – and we are all invited to partake in it with nature.

Springtime indeed signals this call to rebirth, but then there is also the mud that comes with this time of year. It’s needed outside, but we want to keep it at bay, not see it traipsed through the house. Green thumb or not, it’s easy to find mud of all sorts. Perhaps it’s in current events, the loss of a loved one, the busyness of life, or knowingly shrugging off a stirring of something bigger. If one isn’t careful they could become stuck in it – endless heaps of headlines inciting anger but no prayer or action, endless sorrow or challenge but not seeing the gratitude and growth in the midst, endless pondering but not stepping up to the call. Perhaps this is part of our God’s draw to Lent, this juxtaposition of life’s solemnities, as well as abundant joy if we can see it through.

As we witness spring bulbs and seedlings crowning up from the soil, let us pray that we don’t miss this opportunity to rise in our lives. Don’t scroll past this invitation. Remember that mud is needed before the resurrection. Be present to those inner sparks, one another, and this path of hope. The positivity and light of Christ and all Creation await.​

The Lenten Rose pictured above was given to me several years ago by a friend, the late Susan Wilber who was a garden volunteer with the teen urban farm crew at the Sisters of St. Joseph Neighborhood Network. I have come to love them as they are always first up, shooting through and reaching for the light – a show of vibrant color and resiliency, just as Sue was.