Into the Wilderness: Introduction

Into the Wilderness

As the season of Lent begins today, I’ll be attempting to journey 40 days into the wilderness. Not counting Sundays, Easter is 40 days away. These 40 days of fasting and repentance model the many 40 day journeys in the bible. These wilderness journeys were seasons of testing; Moses on the mountain, Israel in the wilderness, Noah on the ark, Jonah preaching to Nineveh, the spies sent out by Joshua, Jesus in the wilderness, Jesus after his resurrection before the ascension. Dozens of times, 40 is the number of a testing journey. I'm going to be blogging through these 40 days my own journey; engaging 40 texts for 40 days of my life and simply listening for God to speak in my experiences and reflecting on my past 41 years and God’s future for me. I have no outline because the 40 day journey has no roadmap. You make the path by walking it one step at a time. I don't know what will come, so I invite you to comment along the way. As Jesus was alone in wilderness, so each one of us must take our own journey. These 40 days of Lent are a time for repentance, fasting, prayer, Scripture, silence, solitude, and service. 

One other piece to my 40 days will be my 40 day preparation for running a 5k. This is the Run For The Rose that occurs the Sunday after Easter. This run honors Dr. Marnie Rose, a pediatric resident, who herself succumbed to brain cancer. It raises funds for brain cancer research and pediatric medical interests. http://www.drmarnierose.org I’ll be posting my team’s page in a later post. 

This 5k preparation is an important part of these 40 days. For 4.5 years I’ve been sitting on my butt. After being in the best physical shape of my life (black belt instructor of TKD, could dunk a basketball, OK almost dunk a basketball) I found myself with brain cancer. The past four years have wreaked havoc on my body. This run represents a new chapter. I’m going to spend these 40 days in honest, raw reflection. I’m going to tell the truth about my life. But, along with that, I’m going to run the race marked out for me. Lent comes with a call to give something up. But, that giving up could also mean taking up. So, what I’m giving up is my excuse for lying in bed later than I should. I mean, I have brain cancer, I’ve had all these treatments (brain surgery, hemorrhaging, more brain surgery, radiation to the brain, a year of chemotherapy, I have seizure activity, I’m constantly trying different meds to combat that, to combat fatigue, I have cysts on my spine from surgery debris that cause pain). I live with the uncertainty of what my next MRI will show. I worry what my family’s future would be without me. I deserve to lie in bed a little longer. I know exercise would do me good, it’s been proven to reduce treatment related effects, it is a natural anti-depressant, etc. etc. etc. But, I’m too tired. NO MORE! Today, I begin training for the 5k.  

So, I invite you along this journey with me. you can find it at: 

http://gospelsightings.blogspot.com 

Grace and Peace,

Danny