As I suspected, this week is feeling a bit like Week 4 of summer swim season. I bet you are wondering how I’m equating this week of Lent with swim season. For those who do summer swim, you probably get it…those of you who have been part of our County swim league team definitely get it. So, here is a very brief description so that everyone has an idea…
Here, summer season starts the day after Memorial Day with practices, meets start 3 weeks later and occur every Saturday morning for 5 Saturdays, plus 5 Wednesday evenings, plus 3-5 extra meets, ending with a championship meet and a team banquet. Leadership team starts planning in February for a season with a minimum of 13 meets that lasts 8 weeks. It’s insane, great fun, tons of work, so rewarding, and makes for great community.
Week 4 is the challenge week. Everyone is tired, the swimmers start gaining time, and that’s the week that the extra meets usually fall. We’ve had some years when Week 4 had a meet almost every day. If we can all get through that week, we’re in the homestretch. Sigh, are we at the end of Week 4 yet? A similar pattern has been noticed on extended and physically demanding scout camping trips. Somewhere between the 2/3-3/4 point, the group hits a funk for a brief time.
So, Lent…we’ve been in this season for a bit now. How are those Lenten disciplines going? Are they still going? Whether you have given up something or taken up a practice, has it become a challenge to keep going? Sigh, are we at Easter yet? There’s Holy Week first before we get to Easter. Another week and we’ll be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
Sometimes, when we find ourselves in the middle of something and we’re anticipating its end, a sigh says it all. It could be an end we are looking forward to. Can you hear the kids in the car…Sigh, are we there yet? Usually you know where the end is so an estimate can be provided. Other times the end is at an unknown point in the future. Times of change or illness can bring on those sighs when there are unknowns we need to live with. That was the year 2020, wasn’t it. Sigh…
There are studies that have looked at the benefits of sighing, which include reducing anxiety, calming nerves, reducing heartrate, and helping us to relax. Sighs of relief after stressful moments work to those effects, especially in situation when you find yourself holding your breath due to stress.
And then there are those times when there are just no words for a situation. Sighs are the best we can do. People have said sighs are prayers too deep for words, like in times of tragedy or some incomprehensible moment and we find ourselves at a loss for words or when words are so inadequate. Sigh…
Sighs are not always due to stress and tiredness. We also sigh out of a sense of contentment, especially after an evening with friend and family sharing in a wonderful meal, or when we settle in to watch a movie or read…a sigh that says “It is good to be here”. Research says we sigh frequently and don’t even notice it.
Are you sighing as a form of prayer these days, maybe due to worry or stress? Or are you anticipating the end Lent, of having sustained your discipline in this season, or the sighs that will follow Easter dinner with family? As our Lenten journey nears the end, may your wordless prayers be heard and the deep breath of life sustain you.
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