There are many ways we mark the season of Lent in the church – we cover the altar in purple cloth, we use fewer instruments and sing simpler songs, and we read scripture that encourages us to reflect on our lives. But Lent isn’t just a season to remember on Sunday mornings as we wait until Easter. This year take Lent home with you – whether you live alone, with young children, have adult children back in your home, or have grandchildren who visit.

Below you will find one symbol for each of the six weeks of Lent: sand, seeds, a rock, a shell, a human figure, and a candle. Each week during this holy season, choose one of the symbols. Find something at home to remind you of that symbol – perhaps you could plant wildflower seeds in a small pot, find a shell the next time you’re at the beach, or use a small human figure from a Lego set or a favorite nativity scene. Put the symbol in a place where the whole house will see it every day that week and use the questions below to prompt conversation. Ask these questions with others in your home, or use them to prompt a quiet time journaling.

Lent is a time to slow down and focus on the essentials of our faith. We remove distractions in order to remember that we belong to God in all our imperfect, beautiful brokenness. The symbols of Lent can draw us back to God at the center of our lives. Try on this faith practice in your home this year. Keep it simple and ask God to show up. You’ll be surprised by what you learn.

Week 1: Sand
Just between his baptism and the beginning of his adult ministry, Jesus went into the wilderness for 40 days “to be tested.” What constitutes wilderness in your life? What have you learned there? What might God be trying to teach us in the wilderness? Read the story of Jesus wandering in the desert in Luke 4:1-11. Place a small bowl of sand somewhere in your home this week.

Week 2: Seeds
Watching seeds grow reminds us of the miracle of hope and transformation that is the promise of Easter. The seeds change, decaying as they transform into a new life that we can’t even imagine when we plant it. Where is hope in your life? Where is mystery? What transformation do you hope for during the season of Lent? Talk about change. What things can you think of that change? What does it feel like when something changes? Read the parable of the mustard seed and the parable of the leavened bread in Matthew 13:31-33. Plant wildflower seeds in ¼ inch of soil in your garden or in a pot. Keep moist especially during sprouting period. Then, water regularly and enjoy your blooms. Or, bring in a small potted plant and let it remind you of transformation this week.

Week 3: Rock
While in the wilderness, Jesus was invited to transform stone into bread. Though he resisted the temptation, he later fed people who were hungry for food, for love, or for forgiveness. Might there be a stony place in your that needs transforming? Read the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10. Jesus transforms us and helps us make better choices. Is there a place in your life you could make better choices?

Week 4: Shell
Historically, the season of Lent was a time when converts to Christianity prepared for Holy Baptism. Jesus began his ministry after his baptism. Have you been baptized? What is your ministry? How are you living out the promises made in the Baptismal Covenant on page 304-305 in the Book of Common Prayer? Read the story of Jesus’s baptism in Luke 3:21-22. Share memories of your child’s or your own baptism.

Week 5: Human Figure
Because Jesus was fully human, he understands us from the inside out, and knows that we are capable of great things. And no matter what we do, he keeps inviting us to join him in his work. As you continue through Lent, what can you do each day until Easter to more closely reflect you and Christ who lives in you? Read the story of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet in John 13:1-17. How can you live like Jesus?

Week 6: Candle
Lent begins in the darkness of winter and ends with the burst of bright spring. Jesus is, according to John’s gospel, the light of the world. Jesus tells us that we are the light of the world, too. Where do you shine? What dark places in the world need the light of Christ? Sing “This Little Light of Mine.” How do you let your light shine?