Projects

Mar 18

I hesitate to even write this, because I know my community will bring it up at dinner. But the things I try to hide about myself are already visible to them. They know. So here it is: I start projects and don’t finish them.

Take, for example, the ceiling in our sunporch. After painting the room, I began the ceiling, ran out of paint, and there it sat, unfinished since 2022. Four years later, I finally bought another can. Will I finish it now? I’m not so sure.

At this point in our Lenten journey, many of us may feel like unfinished projects. The initial fervor fades. Prayers go unsaid. Fasting falters. Acts of charity remain on the to-do list. So what now?

I’ve come to realize that thinking of our lives as “projects” is ultimately unhelpful. Projects have clear materials, defined timelines, and predictable outcomes. If I follow the plan, I can expect a certain result. But that is not how the spiritual life works. The deeper difficulty is clear, I am not in control of the outcome.

If Lent is not a 40-day construction plan for a better version of myself, then what is it? Our Lenten journey is not about completing or finishing a project; instead, it is about remaining. “Remain in my love” (John 15:9). This line from John’s Gospel invites me to loosen my grip on outcomes and take hold of Christ’s command to remain.

St. Francis de Sales prioritizes this focus of remaining. He often points that our faults do not make God anxious. The real work begins with an attentiveness to God.

Remain in me.

For the rest of this week, my short prayer, my direction of intention is going to be simply the word, REMAIN.