(A News and Sentinel Op-Ed - Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

Spiritual formation is the work involved in applying religious beliefs to our lives. Spiritual principles have the ability to anchor us, inform us and define us. For those who follow the Christian faith, we have a season approaching that is about atonement, sacrifice and grace. For many, Lent is just a “Catholic thing,” or a time to give up chocolate and not eat red meat on Friday; however, for all of us, Lent is an invitation to transform.

When working the 12 Steps to recovery, one must do a moral inventory and then make amends if possible. Lent is also a time of inventory and amends. It is a time to acknowledge where we may be wrong and begin the work of changing and doing better.

Lent is a beautiful reminder that transformation, change, and renewal are goals that can be obtained. It begins with us cleaning up our side of the street. It is easy to forget about our side of the street. It is easy to judge how other streets look and to impose on others how we think their street should look. It is not always easy to put on an apron, grab a broom and clean up our side of the street. It involves honesty, vulnerability, and responsibility and willingness to work and to change.

People say, “We hate change!” We don’t hate change; we hate change that we cannot control. We will change our hair, home, job, etc. and embrace the change. We can be deeply afraid of change we cannot control. After all, we might get hurt, be rejected, or endure painful consequences.

This is where grace comes in. In the Christian faith, one cannot talk about Lent and accountability without talking about grace.

Grace allows us to change. Grace gives us permission to do better tomorrow than we did today. Grace invites us to love more deeply, forgive more completely, make amends more quickly and quietly offer ourselves and others compassion, acceptance and understanding.

Lent isn’t just about giving up chocolate. It is about taking inventory and deciding to be more like the one we claim to serve: Jesus Christ.

Our scriptures tell us who Jesus was and is, and guide us in honing the attributes we are to hone as a people of faith. We call these attributes the Fruits of the Spirit. These fruits consist of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Lent is a wonderful time to look at the attributes that we bear and pick one to improve. Gardeners will prune what is unhealthy, put down fertilizer, plant companion plants, and diligently weed and water what they want to grow. If we do our own soul work and see which fruit might be fragile or nonexistent, then we can begin the work of doing better.

Why does it matter what fruit we bear and what attributes we offer to others? In John 21, Jesus tells Peter, his faithful disciple, to feed His sheep.

We, as Christians, Jesus-followers, are to feed sheep and offer Christ to others. To do that well, we are to always be sacrificing selfish agendas and desires so that others might be served and offered what is needed. We cannot offer kindness if we do not hone it, choose to become consistent with being kind and trying to rid ourselves of cruelty and apathy. We cannot offer patience, if we do not choose it, practice it and rid ourselves of impatience and pickiness.

To hone kindness, we make amends with anyone we have treated unkindly and then we deliberately choose differently in future situations and relationships. Grace helps us as God will be with us supporting us and offering us opportunity to get it right.

We are to offer to our families, churches, communities that which is healthy and nutritious for the soul: Fruits of the Spirit, also known as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Beautiful Souls, Struggling Souls, Amazing Humans, please consider a few weeks of being utterly vulnerable and honest with yourself before God and see if you are growing and offering nutritious fruit or poisoned apples. Consider a time of deciding to grow and offer more good fruit and be reminded of grace and goodness. It is never too late to heal and to live into what we believe in new and deeper ways. It is never too late to be the change we want to see in this world.

If you are not sure what to do or where to begin, please let me offer you a phrase that we use repeatedly, but may not always live into well: They will know we are Christians by our love.

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Rev. Dr. Shauna M. Hyde is pastor for Christ and St. Paul’s United Methodist churches in Parkersburg.