Lent Practices

Letting Go
Dear loved one -
I hope you let go.
I hope you let go of holding yourself to impossible
standards.
Lower the bar. Give yourself grace.
God delights in who you are.
And while you’re at it, I hope you let go of ignoring
 your beauty.

The mirror is tired of your harsh words, for you are
made of star stuff and music.
You are the only you there is, and you. are. simply. stunning.

And I hope you’ll let go of certainty.
For the sun will always rise and set, and you will
  always be loved.

What more do we really need to know than that?
So let go of your fear.
Let go of perfection.
Let go of busyness as a sign of your self-worth,

and the notion that creativity is a luxury.

Plant roots like a redwood,
and a spine like a sunflower;
For the days are short, and you are beautiful.
I love nothing more than to see you happy.

So don’t be afraid to let go.
The only thing you cannot lose is God’s, evergreen love.

 Sarah Are, from Sanctified Art: Cultivating and Letting Go

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Cultivate

Tell me again.
Tell me again to cultivate new life-
a life where I believe in myself,
a life where, dare I say, I love myself.

Tell me again to cultivate new life -
a life of dancing in the kitchen
and slow cups of coffee;
a life where Sabbath is viewed as a gift
as opposed to a luxury;
a life where I trust my own voice
and speak words dripping in hope,
heavy in love.

Tell me again.
Tell me again because I will forget.
Tell me again because change has never come easy.
Tell me again, because on Monday I’ll wave palms
And by Friday I’ll be at the foot of a cross.
So if you can, tell me again
Of the love that changed the world,
And my invitation to do the same.
Sarah Are, from Sanctified Art: Cultivating and Letting Go