Thorns!

Matthew 13:22 - As for what was sown among thorns, this is the person who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the desire for riches chokes the seed and it becomes unfruitful.

We all have worries, right? Taxes, investments, where to find our next meal, job pressures, family pressures, unemployment, violence in our homes and our streets, insecurity for all but the most powerful. These choke our hearing of the word. It is as if the din of these thoughts drowns out the still small voice of God. It has always been this way, no matter how much we'd like to think otherwise.

How to reconnect when our hearts grow thorns? Withdraw from the noise and pressure. Find something that soothes your soul. Meditate, draw, color, write. As long as it brings you back to your center, to God rather than deeper into your despair and worries. Lent is the perfect time to think about how we use our brain energy! It is the time in the church year during which we ask ourselves where we need to turn in order to face Christ again. What are we following instead? How does that affect our lives, our relationships, our well-being? What is choking our understanding today?
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