Lenten Meditation: For Lent

It is my Lent to break my Lent,

To eat when I would fast,

To know when slender strength is spent.

Take shelter from the blast

When I would run with wind and rain,

To sleep when I would watch.

It is my Lent to smile at pain

But not to ignore its touch.

It is my Lent to listen well

When I would be alone,

To talk when I would rather dwell

In silence turn from none

Who call on me to try to see

That what is truly meant

Is not my choice. If Christ’s I’d be

It’s thus I’ll keep my Lent.

by Madeleine L’Engle, 1966