Lent comes from the same root as lengthen — as the days are lengthening, as this active fast calls for the lengthening of our souls, the feeding of the hungry and care for others.

If you extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your darkness shall be as the noonday.
The Lord will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
Those from among you
Shall build the old waste places;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.

— Isaiah 58:10-12

Lent is not about nesting. The nest is made, the eggs have hatched, the child is born, and all these hungry mouths need fed. The focus of this fast is not to eat less, but to “share your bread with the hungry” (Isaiah 58:7). At this time of year, many of us think about how to make do with less, but how will you physically direct the surplus of resources that frees up to those in need?

art by Michal Pawlicki

Rather than developing a scarcity mentality, how will you extend yourself to others to demonstrate to them — and yourself — that there is enough?