Preparing For Lent Through A Winter Storm

This winter storm has made the past few days unprecedented. You see, here in Texas, we’ve had single digits temperature (that’s Fahrenheit, of course), which is not typical for our southern state.

While Texas is known for its erratic weather, it is more often than not hot. Just a few days ago, we were in the 80s in mid-January. The houses are not ready for sudden freezing temperatures, and it has led to over 4 million Texan residents being without power.

Can you imagine being used to a warm climate and suddenly getting 6 inches of snow? It’s like experiencing an apocalypse or something. Okay, maybe not, but it took us by surprise. Not even a week ago, we had the devastating pileup accident in Fort Worth due to the inclement weather and people’s inexperience with driving in such conditions. And now we have power outages on and off, and some even have no running water.

A New Realization

At my house, we only experience a power outage all of Monday, but that was more than enough to make me realize how much I’ve taken for granted having electricity. The number of times I went into the bathroom and turned on the light but was dumbfounded when I found myself in darkness are way too many.

Unable to work, my mom and I opted to watch a movie. We’d turned that day into a day to relax since there was nothing we could do about not having power. However, we soon realized that to watch a movie, we needed wifi and tv: two things that require electricity.

It was crazy to see how much of my entertainment, or distractions as they can be rightfully called, require this one utility. I certainly had not put much thought into how I could spend my time better until now.

You see, it is not the first time we are without power, but there is something different about this time since it involved cold weather. I had always considered myself a winter kind of person, but after spending a snowy day with no heat, I am starting to reconsider. It is beautiful while you have a place to warm up after being exposed to cold, but if you experience coldness all day without a warm shelter, it is not fun.

God’s Love Thaws a Frozen Heart

I firmly believe one can take life events like these to be warning signs from our Heavenly Father.

As I said, I took for granted having a cozy, warm house to shield me from all discomfort—bad weather, bugs, all sorts of intrusions. I had been so used to my luxuries that I never stopped considering how life might be without them. While I am truly blessed with essentials, I saw them as primary and insignificant. After having to experience what it was like to be without power in the winter, in addition to being uncertain of when things will go back to normal, it helped once again remind me to count our blessings in thanksgiving.

Preparing For Easter

Today, we start our Lenten Season. It is a time of remembrance that we are dust, and to dust, we shall return. None of our earthly possessions will follow us onto our eternal life, but our attitude and actions will dictate where we end up.

For this, I urge you to examine your life. Take these forty-so days of preparation to honestly look into your heart and discard everything leading you astray from God. All that is hurting you is causing you to reject God, affecting your relationship with Christ and his church.

It is not easy! I wish I could make all of my sins and flaws disappear in an instant so I could be worthy of God’s love, but then I realize that worthiness is only possible through Jesus Christ (John 14:6). His ultimate sacrifice is what gives us hope to begin with. It was his resurrection that made an eternal relationship with God possible.

Let’s Kick Start Our Penance

This is what we remember on Easter. And it is because of this that we take forty days to do penance, prayer, and almsgiving, for it is essential that we repent from our wrongdoings, develop strong communication with God, and that we love one another as commanded by Christ. As Saint Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:2:

“…if I have all faith, so as t remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”

I could give you a generic list of what to give up or take up this lent, but you should ask the Holy Spirit to reveal your flaws and show you how to overcome them according to His Will.

This winter storm has opened my eyes to the many essential things that I have taken for granted; I will incorporate them into my penance. I hope you find your winter storm, and may it help you grow closer to God.

A Prayer Request

Let us pray for all those affected by this winter storm and all the people of the world who have to endure the extreme conditions without shelter or proper protection.