There was a passage in Ascension's CRUX Daily Lenten Meditations that really stood out over these past 40 days. I know I'm going to think about it -- specifically about my "hatching" from a particular challenge in my life -- throughout the entire Easter Season and well beyond.
It's based on Mark 6:45-56, when the apostles are being tossed at sea and Jesus doesn't come to them until the fourth watch of the night (which in modern terms, the reflection points out, wouldn't have been until between 3:00 and 6:00 in the morning). "They all saw him and were terrified. But immediately, he spoke to them and said, 'Take heart, it is I; have no fear.'"
The Ascension passage continues: During these trials, these storms in our lives, God often waits and lets us struggle for a while but it's not to be cruel.
CRUX Daily Lenten Meditations echoed Fr. Columba Jordan's dynamic messages on the Ascension app. Fr. Jordan is an Irish priest from Called to More, the largest Catholic social media ministry in Ireland and the UK. His wit and wisdom made this year's Lenten journey especially memorable and meaningful for me. The reflection goes deeper:
[God often allows us to struggle] because these moments make us recognize our own powerlessness and give us a chance to recognize our own need -- a need that only God can fulfill. ... But these situations don't just serve to emphasize our weakness; they also help us grow in courage and strength. ... They say chicks who don't get to break themselves out of their own eggs don't survive; they need the extreme workout in order to be able to survive outside the egg.
As I mentioned earlier, the mental image of a chick breaking out of its shell has encouraged me to face a specific trial I've struggled with for years. It's an area where I've often felt abandoned by God, but one in which now -- thanks to this passage -- I have a new vision and hope for the transforming work taking place in my life.
Articles at poultryhatch explain the science behind the analogy; they describe the rare instances where human assistance is permissible but only late in the hatching process: "When a chick hatches on its own, it learns to push through the shell, which strengthens its muscles and beak. This self-initiated process also helps it adapt to the outside world more effectively ... ."
I remember this farmyard lesson and have come to think of times of growth when I'm tempted to feel abandoned by God as "Easter chick" situations. I'm applying it not only to myself but to those around me. Sometimes I want to help others too much, especially my young adult sons.
Thanks to the Easter chick lesson, for example, I backed off and let my 20-year-old son figure out how to pay his own taxes online the other day. I didn't even suggest a website to Google!
When he walked away from the computer a short while later, his shoulders were erect and his head was held high. "Wow, that was easy; I'll be sure to do it again next year!" he said (or rather, chirped) with a smile.
I only wish my own battle was that simple. My "hatching" process has been going on for years, and I don't see an end in sight. But thanks to the CRUX Lenten Journey, a program that strongly encouraged journaling, I've been keeping a diary about my progress with this specific cross for the first time ever. I've found the process incredibly helpful, and I strongly recommend it.
While I'm still trapped deep inside my shell, like a tiny chick whose beak has started tap-tap-tapping, there are finally some slivers of light.
