Is Weariness a Lenten Discipline?

Christians around the world are gearing up for Lent.  Some of us will give something up.  Some of us will add something.  We will probably hear a lot about our Lenten disciplines in the coming days.

It feels like we just travelled through Lent a month or two again.  I can't believe it's time for Lent again.

In past years, I've made all sorts of Lenten resolutions.  If you want to know more about the possibilities, click on the "Launch Into Lent" label in the column on the right of the screen.  If you're casting about for ideas, you'll find plenty of them.

This year, I'm going to take a low-key approach.  I'll return to Henri Nouwen's Show Me the Way.  It's got two readings and a prayer for each day of Lent.  The readings are taken from his other works, but they stand alone just fine.

I'll go to our church's contemplative service, but I won't be there every week.  Some weeks, I won't even go to church, because we have a lot of guests coming through during Lent.  They are not church going guests, and it feels inhospitable to say, "Make yourself at home; we're going to church."

I hope to do an art project that's not writing here or there.  I'll keep up with my various writing projects, but that's hardly a Lenten discipline; it's just something I do.

This year, I just feel weary.  Can weariness be a Lenten discipline?

Perhaps it can lead to my Lenten discipline.  Perhaps I should make a concentrated effort to pray about my weariness.  I can pray for those who are making me weary.  I can talk to God about the situations that make me so tired I can barely pull myself together to leave the house.  I can talk to God about my tiredness that comes from being in the house.

It's certainly not a splashy Lenten discipline.  It's quiet and contemplative.  It just may work.