Lent

Today was Ash Wednesday. We had an Ash Wednesday service at church tonight and it was powerful. Ash Wednesday/Lent is a time to take a look inside yourself and realize that you are not perfect. The good news about this is that the Lenten season is also a time of renewal. The Ash Wednesday service is always very powerful for me, but tonight Jon said something in particular that really affected me. He said he wants to get to the point that the line is blurred between where he ends and where Christ begins. Last year Steve Green challenged us to "look at Jesus, look at ourselves, and confess the difference." In the midst of thinking about all this, I listened to my new Casting Crowns CD and this song absolutely struck my heart and soul:

Somewhere between the hot and the cold
Somewhere between the new and the old
Somewhere between who I am and who I used to be
Somewhere in the middle, You'll find me

Somewhere between the wrong and the right
Somewhere between the darkness and the light
Somewhere between who I was and who You're making me
Somewhere in the middle, You'll find me

Just how close can I get, Lord, to my surrender without losing all control

Fearless warriors in a picket fence, reckless abandon wrapped in common sense
Deep water faith in the shallow end and we are caught in the middle
With eyes wide open to the differences, the God we want and the God who is
But will we trade our dreams for His or are we caught in the middle
Are we caught in the middle

Somewhere between my heart and my hands
Somewhere between my faith and my plans
Somewhere between the safety of the boat and the crashing waves

Somewhere between a whisper and a roar
Somewhere between the altar and the door
Somewhere between contented peace and always wanting more
Somewhere in the middle You'll find me

Just how close can I get, Lord, to my surrender without losing all control

Lord, I feel You in this place and I know You're by my side
Loving me even on these nights when I'm caught in the middle

I know that I, for one, have felt the all too familiar feelings this song is expressing pretty frequently lately. Lent. Look inside yourself and allow yourself to crumble and Christ to restore. That's exactly what I plan on doing - no more caught in the middle for me.