Cracks in the ceiling. These are common in this part of the country. Intense heat during the summer, dry ground, slight shifting of the foundation, and “Behold,” cracks in the ceiling. Yesterday I decided to tackle two such cracks in the entryway of our house. I’ve done it often enough I had some idea of what to expect, but there are always surprises.

IMG_0530First, with a utility knife, I cut along the crack. I intentionally make is worse! Then I started chipping away anything that came loose. Next, I cut along both sides of the crack a path about 3” wide. This is about the width of the drywall tape I will use to patch the crack. I chip away until I have a 3” wide path along the crack, down to the drywall. What a mess. The picture on the right is part of my work yesterday. I will continue later today.

I have learned that I have to make the crack much worse, much more noticeable before I can patch it. I have to get all the useless stuff out of the way before I can fill in with new material.

This was true in my own therapy and in the therapy I provided for others. A person would come to my office with concerns about a crack in their life. It became my job to help them dig into the crack and discover that usually there was much more to be uncovered. The crack had gotten their attention, because they had effectively covered up more substantial damage. As life shifted, the damage created a crack.

Lent is about creating the opportunity to see the cracks in our lives. Deprivation, as mentioned in an earlier post, invites a minor trauma into our daily experience, giving us the chance to pay attention in a different way. We can then see the cracks that are always there, but have become so much a part of who we are that we have learned to ignore them.