Andrea and I love to take our canoe and go off into the Canadian wilderness. After a few portages, we find ourselves alone with the moose, the loons and the beaver. We sometimes will go several days without seeing another human. It is exhausting work to travel through the wilds but we come out of it emotionally and spiritually refreshed and relaxed. It is very therapeutic.

The wilderness Jesus knew was very different from the lakes and forests of Canada. Yet, in both cases, we are apart from the demands of the world. There are no phones, e-mails or other claims upon us. It provides a whole different environment. Henry David Thoreau went to the woods to find a deeper level of life there and I can understand that.

Lent is a time of going to the wilderness at least metaphorically. It is a time of stepping away from the daily demands that come to us from family, job and many other directions. This isn’t easy. I remember once talking about time in the wilderness to the mother of two pre-schoolers. She responded succinctly by laughing. Kids or not, it’s a busy, noisy, demanding world.

But I invite you to try. Jesus came out of the wilderness with a clear sense of who he was and what he was to do. Scripture reports that he returned, “Filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Lk. 4:14) It was a transforming experience for Jesus and it is for us as well.

Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on February 17. May your Lenten journey be a blessed one.