The liturgical calendar notes that today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, a time of spiritual reflection prior to Easter, a time of sacrifice and fasting as one considers the suffering of Christ. Today also would have been my father's 87th birthday. And it is the anniversary of Judy and my first date: we walked to Big John's Pancake house for Sunday supper. Pancakes are not too Lent-like, rather belonging to the practice of some for Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras. I was never too good at Lent, since I didn't grow up in the church, and found self-denial challenging. Not unlike a lot of folks, probably. So as I contemplate Lent from the position of no longer preaching, nor leading a church, I am planning a different kind of spiritual reflection. I wrote to a friend this morning about the significance of "seeing" and pausing to wonder. The folks who predict the weather "see" a week of warmth ahead for Nashville. Possibly, today marks the end of winter, and the beginning of "seeing". I certainly pray so.

I know it's a picture of waffles, and not pancakes. But you get the "picture"!