Off-Center

In faith there is movement and development. Each day is something new. To be Christian, faith has to be new—that is, alive and growing. It cannot be static, finished, settled. –Brennan Manning


We have a word we use to describe that neighbor down the way: the woman with the unusual wardrobe and a vast collection of cats, or the man who spends his days feeding the squirrels by hand. We smile sadly and label them, “Eccentric.”

That word, eccentric has two parts in the Greek, which can be literally translated as, “apart from the center.”

We all have those days, days when we just feel “off.” But in our spiritual practices, being “apart from the Center” is not a good place to be for long. We can become busy and convince ourselves that God will understand if we just don’t have time for prayer . . . or study . . . or. . . . And in truth, God allows us to drift away. But God longs for us to return to Center.

This week marks the beginning of Lent and our forty-day journey with Jesus, a time when many Christians intentionally re-focus their gaze on the Christ. This week, I offer you seven “meditation starters” to help you re-center your life. (If sitting quiet is an unfamiliar practice, begin with just 3-5 minutes.) Perhaps this will be the year we choose to give up our busy-ness for Lent and set aside time to rest in the arms of the Creator.


Monday Believe in your power to transform indifference into love. How will you show the world you care? Psalm 8:4

 Tuesday Believe you have an amazing gift to keep hope alive in the face of despair. Offer a prayer today for someone who is struggling. Isaiah 40:30-31

 Wednesday (Ash Wednesday) Believe you have the remarkable skill of deleting bitterness from your life. Pray today for the courage to forgive someone who has hurt you. Thank God for the peace that will follow. Exodus 34:6-7

 Thursday Believe in your budding potential to live with a nonviolent heart. Is there a human rights issue about which you are passionate? Consider contacting your congressional representative and making your passion known. James 3:17-18

 Friday Believe in your passion to speak the truth, even when it isn’t popular. Sometimes as Christians we fall silent. Today, pray for conviction to speak truth—in love. Zechariah 8:16-17

 Saturday Believe you have the strength of will to be peace in a world of violence. Offer words of peace and a hug (after asking permission). Matthew 5:9

 Sunday Believe in your miraculous capacity to give—and receive—unconditional love. Greet someone with reckless abandon this morning. Luke 10:25-37

I will believe the truth about myself,
no matter how beautiful it is. –Macrina Wiederkehr


(Daily meditation prompts adapted from Seven Sacred Pauses, Living Mindfully Through the Hours of the Day by Macrina Wiederkehr)

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