How God Answered My Question: What Should I Focus on for Lent?

I was pondering what to do for Lent and one suggestion really stirred me, that was, surrender to God what He wants to do for you this Lent. 

So I did.

The day after I received this suggestion, two words came to me: Living Water.

Then the day after those two words came, a question came to me: What is this Living Water You want to give me? 

It was the same question the woman at the well asked of Jesus. 

I’ve focused on the woman at the well the last few years of Lent for at least a short time. The story always spoke wisdom into my life. This sinful, broken woman thirsty for love who keeps coming to the well. I’ve pondered her sinfulness, her brokenness, her thirst, her need for Jesus, and her encounter with Jesus -- but never what was in that Living Water. 

The time had come to learn what that Living Water was: What does Jesus want to quench my thirst with? What is this life He wants to give me in the water?

When I think about water, all the ways it ties into faith come to mind. Water is the lifeblood of our existence. Water is what we are baptized with. Water is cleansing and purifying. Water is part of the mass. Water is holy when we bless ourselves with it upon entering or leaving the church. Water is part of the blood of Christ we drink each Eucharist. Water stretches our faith to sink or walk on the water. Water can be miraculous and it can be the start of a calling from fishermen to fishers of men. Water is the place where we get out of the boat to follow Jesus more closely. 

And interestingly enough, water has been my focus for much of this year, beginning with Jesus’ baptism, so perhaps God is trying to do something this Lent.

So that’s my focus for this Lent. That’s my question of the Lord, and my hope is that in the process, He will fill me with that Living Water and show me even more deeply how it can quench my thirst.