Episcopal Relief & Development’s 2025 LENTEN Meditation Journey . . . A COMMONPLACE Lent

Order your soul; reduce your wants; live in charity; associate in Christian community; obey the laws; trust in Providence. —Saint Augustine

Back in the cave-drawing, hunter-gatherer decade of Mommy-blogging, my friend Shannan was known as Flower Patch Farmgirl, and I was known as My Little Life. In those days of yore, Shannan was happy fixing up her farmhouse, and I was happy fixing up my city cottage. And then, we weren’t.

God began to whisper strange somethings into the hearts of Shannan and her husband, Cory, about moving into town and over the wrong side of the tracks; at the same time, God began to nudge Nathan and me toward farm life. Eventually, after mountain and valley moments for both families, the Martins moved to the city, certain God had a calling for them there, and the Greers moved to the country, certain God had a calling for them there. And then, after the flurry of moving and building (them) and remodeling (us) and digging in and fervent hopes of seeing God at work and earnest desires for transformation … crickets. No big revelation. As Shannan later wrote in her book, Ministry of Ordinary Places, “We were no longer new. We were just here. The headline had faded. The sparkle dimmed. Our earlier questions—Where are we going? Why are we going? And will we ever fit were replaced with just one: Now what? Surely God did not lead us here to live.”

Surely, God did not lead us here to live…those were the same words I whispered under my breath that first year on our farm. Surely, God had a new plan of action for us that would be equally sparkly and important. But instead of sparkles and headlines, what  God showed Shannan and me in that season was something akin to what Saint Augustine articulated centuries ago: live a faithful, common life. That is enough.

For REFLECTION:

Sometimes, when seeking God’s will—as an individual, household, or faith community— we look for grand plans or fiery bushes. What would it look like to embrace the words of Saint Augustine as “the plan:” Order your soul; reduce your wants; live in charity; associate in Christian community; obey the laws; trust in Providence. How might this view change our common life together?

Click here to read the introduction to the 2025 Lenten Meditation “A Commonplace Lent.”

The Lenten Meditations prepared by Episcopal Relief & Development invite readers to deepen their spiritual practice during the season of Lent, the time of preparation leading to Easter. Our 2025 meditations explore the idea of “A Commonplace Lent.” This concept reflects Episcopal Relief & Development’s tagline: “Working Together for Lasting Change.” We share in common the work of advancing lasting change in communities impacted by injustice, poverty, disaster and climate change.

We also share in common spiritual practices that strengthen our faith—prayer, worship, love, grace, service and so much more. The author explores another meaning of common in the  meditations: finding God in the common and ordinary as well as in the extraordinary mountain-top moments. Each day begins with wisdom from desert mothers and fathers, monastics and other spiritual leaders who offer insight into our common path of faithful discipleship and service. Each meditation concludes with a question for deeper reflection.

Episcopal Relief & Development is the compassionate response of The Episcopal Church to human suffering in the world. Hearing God’s call to seek and serve Christ in all persons and to respect the dignity of every human being, Episcopal Relief & Development serves to bring together the generosity of Episcopalians and others with the needs of the world.

This Lenten Meditation Journey is provided courtesy of Episcopal Relief & Development and was authored by Jerusalem Jackson Greer, co-executive director and agrarian minister for the Procter Center, an Episcopal farm, camp and retreat center in the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio. As former manager of evangelism and discipleship for The Episcopal Church under Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, she co-founded the Good News Garden movement and oversaw Way of Love and Evangelism initiatives for the wider church.