Lent: The penitential season where we move (with great intention) from our gorged, swollen, addicted state to something more Divine. At least, that’s the hope. But is Lent all about fasting and prayers and saying holy things on the internet to garner attention?

Dear God, I hope not.

We are created in the image of a Creator, at least the ancient books says so. If this is true, and if Lent is a journey to connecting with the grace of our originally created state, shouldn’t Lent include some act of creation? Yes, I say.

Years ago, I wrote a novel. It was a beast of a thing (quite literally), entitled Bears in the Yard (you can read it in serial installments by joining here). It’s the story of a man who is making his pilgrimage to end, the great beyond, the far shore, whatever. It’s a recasting of his life—the joyful, the regrettable, the sexual, the sensual, the mournful. When I finished that novel, I let it sit. And sit. And sit. It sat while the earth made eight cycles around the sun, and this Lent, I’ve dusted it off. My goal? To complete the editorial process and get it to a literary agent by Easter.

40 days to polish a novel. Let’s go.

I create because I was made to create. So were you. Your mode of creation is different than mine, of course. You work wood, tie flies, knit stocking caps. You paint, sketch, stitch together haiku. Maybe you make those country checkerboards with roosters painted on the edges. Whatever your chosen mode, that act of creation is an act of becoming more Divine. It is a sort of liturgy, an act of prayer.

Today, set a creation goal as a Lenten practice. You have 40 days to make something new, something unique to you. What will it be? If you’re so inclined, let me know by shooting me an email.