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“It is a time to try to develop healthy habits in a contemporary world where it is all too easy to acquire unhealthy habits... The key is taking time to create space to make a small change.”

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THE journey to Easter begins this month as Lent begins on February 22.

This season in the Christian calendar is one of marked change – leaving the bleakness of the winter months behind as we move through seasonal change, ending with the joy and hope of Easter in early April and (hopefully!) some spring sunshine.

This winter has probably been one of the hardest of the 21st century with a cost of living crisis and high energy costs which means many will have felt a deep financial squeeze, particularly over the cold winter months in the northern hemisphere. The new church season offers not just spiritual – but physical – hope as the temperatures slowly begin to climb again.

Habits of people of faith can vary during Lent. Some practise denial – giving up something for the season, be it chocolate or another food and drink treat – or an increasing trend of abstaining from online social media. Another practice is of taking up something new – and developing new healthy habits.

We live in a world which, post-Covid, is rapidly returning to the fast-paced demanding environment of constant change and speed. Adopting a practice of taking up something new could mean taking positive and meaningful time out each day – perhaps to spend more time with God in moments of creative or physical peace. It is a time to try to develop healthy habits in a contemporary world where it is all too easy to acquire unhealthy habits, eg relying on texts and social media for contact with friends and family rather than meeting together, not taking appropriate screen, lunch and tea breaks at work and being purely task driven. For those at home it could mean switching off television or radio and picking up a book or developing a hobby that engages mind, body or spirit, or fostering a sense of wellbeing and community by joining a local interest group to combat isolation and loneliness. It could be as simple as a pledge to be outdoors for a short period of time every day. The key is taking time to create space to make a small change.

For taking a break from anything – even a short one – offers space to engage anew with the world, refreshed and with a reinvigorated perspective.

For it is in these moments of time – when we pause for just a moment – that we can bear witness to the voice of God and find a new way to shape our world. ¤

Lynne McNeil Editor