"Mud" | Reflection by Will Oxford

It has been many years since I looked at mud with anything but distain. That childlike glee of playing in mud has long since exited my thinking. Now when I see mud, I try to avoid it at all costs. Whether I'm driving or walking, I'll go out of my way to not get my shoes dirty, my car dirty, or to be slowed down in getting to my destination.

That's why I think mud might be the perfect word for Lent. We all want to get to Easter as soon as possible. I want to see the white vestments, hear the choir sing "Hallelujah," and ring the bells signaling the resurrection!

Lent forces us to get down in the mud with ourselves and our relationship with Christianity. We've got to endure the difficult dirty bits. 

Think of all the beautiful things that come from mud. Spring flowers, crops, bricks for building houses, and of course happy pigs in rolling in the mud.

What fruits can we harvest for ourselves during this time of Lent? The more time we spend in the mud, the more our perspective can change. Something that can be disgusting now becomes life-giving; thoughts that were once in the back of our minds come to the forefront. 

St. Oscar Romero once said "There are many things that can only be seen through eyes that have had cried." I think Bishop Romero would also include those of us who have had our eyes full of mud as well.