Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, represents the forty days Jesus was in the wilderness being tested by Satan. As we all know he passed with flying colors so to speak. He knew he was living his real life without the bells and whistles being offered from the devil. Barbara Brown Taylor reminds us of the essential challenge of Lent if you are willing to take it on. "If you have spent a lot of time and/or money trying to acquire whatever it takes to grow your soul without seeing any new buds, then maybe a little spell in the wilderness is worth a try--a few weeks of choosing to live on less, not more--of practicing subtraction instead addition--not because your regular life is bad but because you want to make sure it is your real life--the one you long to be living. Wilderness does not have to be a bad place to be in if it brings us to the realization of what is missing in our true self."

I have certainly had my wilderness times. The first one I failed. I was a young wife and mother and my own precious mother was diagnosed with a lethal type of cancer. She was goodness, love, and a beacon in our lives. I chose to be mad at God and turned my back on him. I look back and see how if I would have only trusted he could have been a great comfort and source of strength for me. I learned years later how wrong I was. I am grateful now for my strength through faith.

In this image our family was traveling through the panhandle of Texas on our way to our Oklahoma family for Thanksgiving. The starkness and bareness struck me.

"Everything in life has its own time. There is time to celebrate and there is time to mourn. This is the time for reflection and transformation. Let us look within and change into what we ought to be." ~ Aaron Saul

Peace.