The Lent that Wasn’t

/ littlemuncher / Leave a comment

The world is full of shortcuts—distractions dressed up as solutions.
Quick fixes for discomfort.
Fast answers for deeper questions.
Validation at the tap of a screen.

We quench our thirst with what is easy.
I reach for Instagram. Others reach for achievement, applause, or distraction.
We look for shortcuts to knowledge, wisdom, even success—outsourcing the slow work of becoming.

Even in church, we can try to manufacture something real.
The right music, the right lighting, the right atmosphere—
as if God’s presence can be arranged on a schedule.

But seeking God in truth is not instant.
It is slow.
It is hidden.
It is often hard.

To really study His word takes effort.
To really live in community takes sacrifice—patience, forgiveness, showing up again and again with imperfect people trying to follow a perfect God.

And yet, we are so drawn to what is quick.
To easy answers.
To platforms that let us be seen and affirmed.

But waiting on God?
Persevering in prayer?
Listening for the Holy Spirit?

There is no applause for that.
No immediate reward.
Just the quiet, stretching work of faith.

Lent was not the transformation I had hoped for.
I didn’t meet God every day the way I intended.
I didn’t always resist the pull of the screen.
I mostly just gave up caffeine.

Some days were better than others.
Some moments felt faithful.
Many did not.

And yet—God was there.

Gently reminding me:
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)

Maybe Lent is not about dramatic transformation.
Maybe it is about learning to stay.
To sit in discomfort a little longer.
To take up your cross—not a light bag, but something weighty. Something real.

To keep going, “throwing off everything that hinders… and running with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1)

To choose the harder thing in small ways—
waking early, saying no, resisting ease,
even standing in the longer queue.

To practice hunger.
To practice waiting.

Jesus endured forty days of temptation.
I struggle after three hours.

And still—
the Lord is good.

“Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His.” (Psalm 100:3)

And perhaps this is where transformation begins:
not in success,
but in returning at the foot of the cross.

Mindful Faith.

/ littlemuncher / Leave a comment

Welcome to Mindful Faith

A Christian with depression. There’s an oxymoron.  Are we not supposed to be a happy clappy sought ?  Like how a youth worker assistant -well meaning  I’m sure -said to me at about 14 – you’re young you should be full of beans. Is it though ?

This blog is really just me sharing my heart. Since I was a teenager, I’ve lived with the reality of mental health struggles while also discovering what it means to walk with God. Those two journeys have often collided in ways I never expected—sometimes messy, sometimes beautiful, always shaping who I am.

So what’s with the title Mindfull Faith ? The following reasons: 

  • Often found that in Church circles it was rare for me to find a place or person I felt safe with to share the darkest thoughts and biggest fears. Who would go beyond read this verse pray more exercise more eat better. While all these things are needed for our wellbeing depression especially of a more spiritual nature – needs something deeper or at least more tangible. Sit with me walk with me. 
  •  Mindfulness is a practice with its roots in Hinduism and Buddhism. I was puzzled why this became a thing in Christian circles. For the Christian we do not empty our minds but renew our minds through scripture. Meditation in Christianity is different- also practiced a long time. In this Blog we look more into what does it mean to love God with all our hearts MINDS body soul ? 
  • A place to come to and remind you that God sees you. Is mindful of you and hears you. 

Disclaimer: I am not trained in theology or psychology or mental health . Just a fellow Pilgrim. A  Christian who struggles with depression for going on 4 decades. I don’t have all the answers, and I’m not writing from a place of “having it all together.” This is more like a journal I’m opening up, where faith and mental health meet. I want to write the sort of thing I would’ve liked to have read in my darkest times. The lows as well as the moments of hope, and how God has met me in both. If you take one thing away with you it is this verse :

AMPC
And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.  Philippians 1:6

If anything here makes you feel a little less alone, or reminds you that God hasn’t forgotten you, then that’s enough for me. God is not finished with any of us yet. There are more mountains to climb and treasures in the darkness to find. New green pastures to rest in and to hear Jesus the good shepherd who died was buried and raised again –  call you by name. Draw near to God and He Will draw near to you.