The Purple Practice of Waiting: a 5 minute kid-friendly lenten activity

Lent is the time that the ancient church set apart for getting ready for the mystery of Easter Sunday. Easter and the story of Jesus’ resurrection is such a big mystery that we have to take time to get ready for it. We mark the season of Lent for 40 days… or 6 weeks. 40 days is symbolic of Jesus’ time in the wilderness after his baptism, which was symbolic of the number of years the people of God in the Hebrew bible wandered in the desert before finally coming into the promised land. We take time during the season of Lent to be in a Wilderness space…. A space set apart that looks and feels different than the rest of our day to day lives. Kind of like how when we go on a hike, or to the beach, or spend time in the mountains it feels different.

​We engage new disciplines during Lent to turn ourselves back towards our spiritual and physical roots. Here is a practice you can engage in with your family that takes about 5 minutes, but will remind you of good things for 40 days!

(Or check out our family-friendly giving option, our environmentally-friendly habit-changing option here!)

WAITING

 from Traci Smith’s book Faithful Families.

​Waiting is hard, for children and adults alike. Sometimes we wait for small things like the bus or our turn in line. Sometimes we are waiting for something that happens slowly and gradually, almost imperceptibly, like water evaporating from a glass. Throughout life we must wait. We wait for healing or for our dreams to become reality; we even wait to understand our faith. This activity is a visual reminder that many of the things we hope for in life come slowly.
 
Materials:

• Pitcher with 8 oz. of water
• Empty glass
• Purple food coloring (optional but helpful)

 
How to:

1. Read aloud Romans 8:25, which says, “If we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” Then talk about these two questions:
   1. What does it feel like to wait a long time for something?
   2. What is something you are waiting for now?
2. After the questions, say, “We are going to start an activity now about waiting and it will take a very long time. Each of us is going to pour a little water into this glass, and then we will put the glass somewhere and check on it every day. We will wait to see how long the water stays in the glass and how long it takes to evaporate. As we pass by and see how long it is taking, we might feel discouraged or wonder if it is ever going to happen, but slowly, very slowly, all of the water will evaporate. The water becomes part of the air but it is such a slow process we hardly notice it.
3. Take turns pouring water into the glass. Then, add a few drops of food coloring so you can see the water (and see that it’s not just a glass that needs to go in the dishwasher!) In fact, help label the glass “The Waiting Glass” so that it is set apart from your other glasses. Decide where it is going to sit for the next 40 days so you can see it but it won’t be disturbed.
4. As Lent passes by, be sure to check in with one another at meal times or other times about how the glass is doing. Wonder together about how much longer it will take to evaporate.
5. When the water has evaporated (or when you notice that it has evaporated), gather together again around the glass. Read the bible verse again. Ask:
   1. What did it feel like to wait?
   2. What are some things that WE wait for that take a long time? (baby to be born, a scab to heal over, a tooth to grow in, summer to come, etc)
   3. What are some things that our neighbors wait for that take a long time? (finding housing, finding jobs, racial equity, access to food, access to healthcare etc.)