Lenten Devotional

Day 4 – March 8, 2025 The Right Person at the Right Time I thought moving back to my hometown would be a breeze after nine years as an expat, but the transition was harder than I expected. Family dynamics had changed—my mom and grandparents had passed away, and my dad had remarried. My worldview had shifted, and I struggled to meet people with similar outlooks and interests. And then COVID hit, making it tough for Alex and I to find our place in the community. One day I was out for a walk with baby Elliott, frazzled from new motherhood, when a woman I didn’t know pulled her car over to ask about the baby. Under normal circumstances, I

Day 3 – March 7, 2025 Spiritual wilderness is what I’ve experienced. And at the time I was experiencing it, I would not have called it wilderness, nor would I have said that there was refuge/a society to serve as a foil to that wilderness. I would have said there is no spirituality at all, and that all that we experience in the flesh is all that there is. For about five years, I was a pretty staunch atheist. I grew up going to church and all that, but by my second year of college, I became fed up with where the Lord had me. I thought if He’s so great, why has he allowed such disappointment in my life?

God’s Hands “Yet, O LORD, you are our father.We are the clay; you are the potter;We are all the work of your hand.”   Isaiah 64:8  NIV  I took a pottery class many years ago.  I remember learning how to knead, push and even slam the clay to get out all the air bubbles before beginning a piece of pottery.  Then I had to learn how to center the clay on the wheel.  If it was not centered properly then the clay would spin out of shape as I kicked the wheel to create the spinning motion that was needed to produce a vessel.  I learned the processes and created many bowls.  I gave them away to friends and family

“Ash Wednesday” is the beginning of the 6 weeks before Easter known as “Lent”.  This day is a reminder that we are mortal and should reconcile with God. It encourages us to refocus and realign ourselves in our relationship with God and one another, accepting our sinfulness with honesty rather than shame, trusting God to meet us where we are.    The ashes applied to a person’s forehead allude to the verse “from dust you came and to dust you will return.”  The cross-shaped application is also a reminder of the symbol of water at baptism. It is an outward symbol of our penitence.     Following Ash Wednesday, Huntsville First UMC will share a devotional for each day of Lent. 

The Lenten season is upon us. This 40-day season reminds us of the 40 years the Israelites spent wandering in the wilderness toward the land God had promised. It also reminds us of the 40 days Jesus spent tempted in the wilderness. Lent begins this year on Ash Wednesday, March 5, and continues through Easter Sunday, April 20. You’ll notice this is longer than 40 days. Sundays during Lent are considered mini-Easters, glimpses of the resurrection story to come. So, it is an excellent time to prepare for the miracle on which our faith is centered- the resurrection of Christ. As an exercise in discipleship and fellowship,  members of the Huntsville First UMC church family have been asked to consider