…unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies… John 12:20-33  As we move into the homestretch of Lent, prayerfully and hopefully we are finding our selves ever closer to that ready presence of God. The time it takes us to call on God as if God is in some distant place and recognizing that God’s presence has always been “closer than it appears” should be getting a little shorter. Our ability to identify pieces of our own life in the life of Christ is slightly less challenging and letting go of the “slight of hand” stuff and “off the cuff remarks” don’t hang around our thought processes nearly as long as they use to. For certain the hurtful things people say and do still causes some pain but as our spirit is ever closer and right with God we are learning to let the hull from that grain fall off and die because God is creating something new within us. Once again a wonderful resurrection. That you God for your presence. Let the disciplines of our Lenten season continue to gird up our faith as we approach the Easter of our lives and live a renewed Spirit