So you have developed your scene for the week -- the wilderness that you have experienced at some point in time. In a wilderness place the only artificial objects are the ones you carry with you (some call it baggage). What happens if you release what you carry for shelter, self-protection, or control? What if you stand in the midst of the scene with nothing made by or imposed by humans. It is just you, the wild beasts, and God. Try to remember that one of the greatest ploys of the devil is to tell you that the place you are is a place where God isn't.
That is a lie.
Sit with it. Be still there. What stirs?
Part of the beauty and terror of Lent is that when we consent to a time that is emptied of our own attempts at comfort or control, our senses are heightened. We may see and hear things around us or within us that are hidden in the busy-ness that we carry most days.
Look around. Listen.
What can you say about what you notice?
It's a profound truth what you said about Satan's deception being trying to get us to think we are in a place that is "God-forsaken." No place on earth is actually Godforsaken, is it? It is God-filled, we need only stop to look and listen. Busyness drowns out the voice of God. . . too much movement and sound drowns out the call to come and live. What stirs in me today is a sense of deep gratitude for the journey, for friends, for silence. :)
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