I keep my calendar and to do list on a Palm handheld. I like using the palm for various reasons. Chiefly, in a small space I can carry an abundance of information and data. At a recent meeting I took all the documentation for the meeting on my palm. It’s great. No papers to shuffle and no notes to retype when I get home. And my calendar is always available well into the future. There is one problem however.
The problem is I sometimes forget to look at my calendar and to do list. Today for example is the birthday of Theodor Geisel, Dr. Seuss. I made a note in my palm to review some of the works of Dr. Seuss to use in this eMeditation. But, I did not check my calendar when I had access to the Dr. Seuss books. I’d do the same thing when I kept my calendar and to do list on paper so it’s not the tools fault but mine.
The palm reinforces the illusion that I am in control. The message of Lent is something different. The Christian life is not about control but surrender. Lent is an opportunity to practice surrendering. For these forty days I intentionally surrender some desires, my own willfulness and my self-centeredness. The disciplines of Lent, fasting, almsgiving and prayer teach me the way of surrender. When I celebrate the new life born of surrender on Easter, I pray that a life of surrender will become more deeply the way I live.
”Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.” (Ps 147:12a)