WILDERNESS: READY OR NOT HERE I COME

I am feeling a bit cheated.

I have been in Saskatchewan for 10 days so far, attending the Ministry of Supervision training course. St. David's has applied to be a learning site for a student minister and this training will allow me to take on the role of supervising that student. The timing of this event has meant that I am here for the start of start of the season of Lent. Today is Ash Wednesday.

It also means that I was here for Shrove Tuesday. I know that the people of St. David's would have enjoyed the fruits of the Men's Club's labours with the annual pancake supper last night. I was expecting to be with them in spirit, here at the Prairie CHRISTIAN Training Centre. I was prepared for the succulent smell of sausages and pancake and syrup as I made my way into the dining room ...

But my senses gave me a different message. None of the smells fit. It was Swiss Steak! [I was not aware that the Swiss liked their steak tough and tasteless] How is it supposed to be "Mardi Gras" (FAT Tuesday), if I don't even clear my plate?

Am I ready to head into the wilderness of Lent, without the "usual" preparation. I still have hungers to fed and yet, I am invited out into the unknown - to wrestle with the most basic questions of life. How should I live?

Thanks be to God, that I am not alone.

Ready or not, here I come!