Lent 2026 Guide-DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 16
Week 4
Thursday, March 12 – Wednesday, March 18
Devotion 1
Inspiration
Mary couldn’t help feeling frustrated. Bobby seemed to be getting more and
more miserable. She had prayed and badgered him relentlessly, but nothing
was happening. She would often ask, ‘I’ve been praying for four years for
Bobby. The change, the healing, Lord, when is it going to happen?’ Then
with the knowledge that the deity does not reward impatience, Mary would
add, ‘Not my will, but thine be done.’ She yawned and looked at the clock. It
was half past mid-night, and the next morning – Saturday – was a workday
for her. She rose to go to the sink for a glass of water. As she walked back
to the table, an odd thing happened: something flickered inside her, like a
light switching off. For an instant a cold blackness whooshed through her,
darkening her spirit. Then it passed. ‘Lord, what does that mean?
– Leroy Aarons, “Prayers for Bobby”
Reflection
After three years I was feeling tired and hopeless. Three years of praise
bands and flashy lights. Three years of dorm room Bible studies. Three years
of feeling guilty that I needed to pray harder, better, or more often. Three
years of feeling shame and guilt that nothing I was trying was making me
less gay or feel more “normal.” I had become very good at the routine of
“coat checking” my identity, stories, and scars at the door, while I sat in the
pews of various churches. However, I was feeling increasingly anxious that I
wasn’t getting better, and in fact was getting worse at hiding my queerness.
I entered my senior year of college with a collection of invisible, but very
real scars and thought maybe it was time to give up on church, my faith,
and God in general. It was in this dark night of my soul that God worked
in some interesting ways. Prayers for Bobby by Leroy Aarons follows the
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