Liz Schauer

Quick Lent update before things get too deep: It’s hard! I was fully aware that my food options were immense (even though I consistently choose Chipotle), but I had no idea how difficult it would be to only eat seven foods. Creativity is crippled with a measly seven foods, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Katie and I were getting ready for bed last night and we were sharing our experiences from day one. There was a lull in the conversation when she said,

I’m hungry and find myself thinking about different foods that I want to eat; it is constantly on my mind. I want to hunger for God in that way. 

Amen and amen. That’s what this is all about. Simplifying areas of our lives so that we can focus on God. I’m grateful that one day in, I am learning.

Speaking of learning…

I am reading through the Old Testament and am constantly amazed at how God uses incredibly messed up people to bring hope and life to the world. He is so patient, so faithful, so kind. 

This past week I read through the Exodus account and something deeply profound stood out. In Exodus chapter 3, we find a very familiar story: Moses and the burning bush. This is a story we all learn as kids, a story we could recite from memory, a story that may have grown dull over the years. Moses sees a bush burning and investigates why it isn’t being consumed. In an unexpected moment, God meets with Moses and his time of hiding from his sin in the wilderness is ended. 

In Exodus 3:3, Moses said,

I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.

Moses had no idea, no expectations, no hope of meeting with God. I imagine Moses wandering with his sheep thinking about the monotony of his life when he saw the bush. I can see him tilting his head to the side, eyes squinted, perhaps saying aloud, “That’s weird…” He didn’t turn to the bush because he was hoping God would speak to him through it, he turned to the bush because it was burning and he wanted to see what was going on.

Many times in my life, I feel like Moses. I go about my day, oftentimes in a routine, and then God encounters me in ways I would never expect. It is my hope and prayer that this Lent, God would reveal himself to me in obscure ways; that small sparks of interest would turn into moments of intimacy with Jesus. It is in those moments when I can only open my hands in gratitude to a God who not only answers when I call, but pursues me when I don’t.