“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the  Spirit in the  wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.    He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over,  he  was famished.” Luke 4:1-2

Lent to me brings with it many thoughts of the awesome sacrifice Jesus made for humankind.  We think often, through scripture and through personal reflection, of the fact of the sacrifice, the human pain and suffering that accompanied it, and the incredible willingness to follow God’s will and to accept what lay ahead.

 The above passage is critical to that “end” suffering and acceptance as we realize that Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness meditating and preparing for his life's work and that ultimate sacrifice.  He used the time to steel himself against temptation and to find the inner strength to do what needed to be done.  I would imagine that the human side of Christ embraced the experience, in hindsight, as evidence that he could indeed do what needed to be done and provided a victory of sorts that fortified him when later doubts may have crept in. 

In that way, the wilderness experience was a positive one for Christ, just as it can be for us.  There is value to recognizing when we are at a low point in our lives, to finding the drive and strength to get through that low point and to find the victory that lay ahead.  There is value too when we understand that we have resources – we have our faith and our God, we have our family and friends, and we have ourselves – even when we feel alone or engulfed by pain or with nowhere to turn.  Reflecting on our valleys certainly makes the peaks all the more sweet and worthy of savoring, but they also can provide the fuel we need to get through when we otherwise feel at a loss, with no nourishment and famished for inner peace, acceptance and joy.  We know what awaits us and what we have come through, and therefore can indeed come through. 

Sometimes our wildernesses come in small pieces, and others in long stretches of searching and trying.  Regardless, the wildernesses we experience help us to understand our place in life and help us to take solace and joy in our faith and our surrounding family members and friends.  They teach us different things at different times – sometimes patience, sometimes love, sometimes kindness or caring, sometimes prayer.  The list is endless, but the lessons are there.  The trick is to value our wilderness experiences rather than to curse them.  To accept what God has lain before us and where we, with the help and guidance of the Spirit, allow them to take us. 

This Lenten season, I will reflect upon several wilderness experiences currently upon and before me.  One experience is that of the daily challenges of being a “good” wife and mother and professional and friend.  Sometimes, it all seems a bit too much.  Seems as if the world (my world) is spinning out of control, and I cannot find the path back to enjoyment and satisfaction and peace.  My challenge will be to embrace those experiences and, remembering many similar such experiences in my past, remember that God has given me the strength to pull through, has given me the supports and resources to help, and has given me the ability to reach out and take what is offered … to come out of the wilderness into the joy of life again and the enjoyment of all the gifts and blessings that come with the busy-ness and the release from the imperfections we all must accept and to accept the nourishment of patience and acceptance and love that God has granted and embedded in what may seem to be a wilderness. 

Another experience with which I am struggling (a more private struggle) is a longer-term wilderness, one that has festered and been with me for some time and that I’ve only recently begun to address – only recently begun to seek out eradicate the famine of the wilderness.  There is light at the end of the tunnel, but it is harder as I need to ask for and accept the help of others to find my way.  I need to reflect on the ways in which I have been able to emerge from other – different – challenges and to use the lessons from the past to chart a prayerful path into the future. 

I have faith that God and the Spirit will help to show me the way, just as they led Jesus into and then out of his 40 days of temptation and learning and emergence back into the nourishment of his faith.  When I feel alone or overwhelmed, I do – and I must – return to my faith and my prayer and follow the Spirit where it leads.  Embracing the human pain along the way and taking care to avoid the temptations that lead me from the righteous path before me.  I may stumble, or even fall, but I can reflect and draw on the past to help me in the present and in the future.

Submitted by Vicki Donati