The Fiery Evening

As is the case this year, March 6 was on a Wednesday back in 2013, 6 years ago.  On that day, I was in eastern Nebraska on a service trip.  That evening, our group went to the small rural town of Rosalie to participate in the Sweat Lodge ceremony, one of the most intensely profound experiences of my life.

Lent 2019 starts today with Ash Wednesday, and I regard that a fitting coincidence as I reflect on this experience, doing so with this poem:

O Sweat Lodge,
The Place of Purification,
I entered into you
And there faced the intensity of the heat
As spiritual fire refines and purifies me.
The heat is difficult to bear,
And so I turn to prayer
Remembering the God Who aids me in perseverance.
As each round passes, my confidence builds.
I trust even more than I can make it through.
The heat is a fire that refines me
To endure all difficulties I face in life
And emerge stronger.
And I emerge from the Sweat Lodge
So empowered by the endurance I demonstrated.
I emerge anew, like when I emerged new from the womb.
And so I declare, "All my relations":
I am ever connected with the world around me,
The people with whom I shared this experience,
Just as I remain connected with the Body of Christ,
The Church on Earth and in Heaven.
I learned what it means to be human
From reading philosphers like Mencius and Aristotle,
From reading classics like Jane Austen and Virigina Woolf.
Yet now I embrace a new understanding of humanity,
How we persevere and endure.
Even if it seems that we might die,
We show we are strong,
And we remember that God strengthens us,
And makes us strong.
Indeed, our God brings us through what seems like death,
And in His redemptive power, He brings new Life.
We drove there nervous, we leave excited,
For we have been impacted by so unique an experience.
So I continue in life, remembering
The power this ceremony has brought me.
And the time of 6:30-8:00
On Wednesday, March 6, 2013,
In the town of Rosalie, NE,
Forever remains etched in my mind,
As something that touched me so deeply,
For I encountered a new vision
Of living the life of faith,
In heat and fire.