When Jesus was about 30 years old, he left his home in Nazareth.  He left the security of his family and the trade that he had been practicing for several years.  Jesus found his way to John and was probably there for weeks or months. Then, one day, Jesus stepped forward and went into the water and was baptized.  It was the turning point in his life.

The first thing that happens after this is his temptation in the desert.  It was the first in a series of temptations that would be a part of the adult life of Jesus.  And, just as temptation happened to Jesus, it can and does happen to me. Sometimes I am tempted to ignore my baptismal commitment.  I may be tempted to go about my way…and leave God out. This may not be in the form of going face-to-face with God and saying “no”, but what we often do is go days and weeks leaving God out of the plan.

This is one of the first things you can address during Lent.  Instead of giving God a nod now and then, what about using all the days and weeks of Lent to draw God closer in living each day and sharing my life?  

Living as God’s beloved child is not simply a matter of asking, “What do I want to do”?  It is a matter of asking God each day: “What are you calling me to do”?

I, too, have been baptized.  I, too, am to remain in the desert these days of Lent, with God, tempted by Satan, and resisting him through God’s grace.  I can make any time a turning point in my life. 

– from The Little Black Book-Diocese of Saginaw