Lent Means Course Correction

Back when I was a private pilot, I learned something quickly — flying isn’t just about getting off the ground. It’s about staying on course.

We had a single-engine Cessna 182 — a sweet little ride. And I still remember the truth every pilot learns — wind changes everything. Wind speed and wind direction can quietly push us off track. Sometimes only a few degrees. But over time, those few degrees can land us somewhere we never intended to be.

I learned that the hard way on my first solo cross-country flight. Let’s just say — I got a little too close to “Timbuktu.” Yikes!

But isn’t that life?

The winds of worry, doubt, fear, temptation, bitterness, and busyness can shift our hearts little by little. We don’t wake up one day far from God — we drift. We compromise. We get distracted. We get tired. We start living on autopilot.

That’s why Lent matters.

Today, Wednesday, February 18, 2026, the Lenten season begins –the 40-day journey leading up to Easter.

Lent is not about religious performance or trying to impress God. It’s about intentional focus. It’s about stepping away from the noise long enough to hear the heartbeat of Jesus again.

It reflects the 40-days Jesus spent in the wilderness, and it invites us to examine our own hearts. To repent. To reset. To realign.

Lent is course correction. It’s a season to trade “What do I want?” for “Lord, what do You want?”

To exchange distractions for devotion.

To fast from what dulls our spirit and feast on what strengthens our faith.

Maybe for the next 40-days, we pray more. Read the Word slower. Speak kinder. Forgive quicker. Serve quietly. Worship deeper.

Because when we correct our course now, Easter becomes more than a holiday.

It becomes a resurrection—of our hearts.

And that is worth taking seriously.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10