This year, I’ve had a bumpy start to Lent. A couple of things came up that completely threw off my schedule and distracted me from the beauty and invitations that are inherent to Ash Wednesday and the first few days of Lent. These distractions also prevented me from blogging here. Today, after I post this, I’ll also put up a post about lectio divina, since praying with the Word of God is one of the best things we can do when we are discerning the Lord’s invitations in our life.

If you’ve also had a bumpy start to your Lent, know that you’ve probably got lots of company. (At the very least, it’s the two of us!) For me, the important thing about Lent–and about the spiritual life–is that God, in his mercy, invites us to convert and to draw close to himself over and over again. We may become impatient with ourselves and with our failures and distractions, but the Lord–who knows us better than we know ourselves–remains faithful. In the Gospel, Jesus is so patient with his often-clueless apostles–he never gives up on them! Every time we decide to do better and we renew our intentions to follow his invitations, we surrender ourselves into his hands. Especially after we have failed, this is a gift we can offer him–the gift of our trust in his love and mercy. I think this gift is precious to him.

So, whatever bumps in the road you have already joggled over these first few days of Lent, entrust them to Jesus and start anew today. If you’ve already decided what you’re doing for Lent, renew your intention and continue on. If you’ve kind of “missed” the first few days of Lent, that’s okay. Jesus is holding out his hand to you today, inviting you to draw closer to him.

Below is a beautiful prayer with which to begin your Lent: