At least for us Filipinos, Lent is the time when offices shut down and the entire nation gets to enjoy at least four straight days of rest. But because this only happens once a year, many also use the time for long vacations, taking off for the beach or nearby destinations. So often, celebrating the true reason for the season—the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus—gets lost.
It is because of this that our team decided to create something that will enable our rest-deprived friends to still go away and physically remove themselves from the noise of the city, while bringing their minds and hearts to a state of reflection and retreat. We believe that God wants us to be nourished in every way—body, soul, spirit, and mind.
So we wrote Anchor of the Soul. We created and sold it years ago under Olivia Women, but some of the women realized that it is still relevant today, if not more so, because of the pandemic that we are collectively experiencing.
Because have we not all, in a way, been forced to retreat? To move away from the usual hustle and bustle of our lives, only without the benefit of taking off for somewhere. It’s almost Lent and whatever we might have planned for this time—a beach trip, a K-drama tour, or an authentic Japanese ramen experience—will have to wait. But here is the good news: No one has to postpone Easter. After all, it has already happened. All we need to do is to set aside some time of deep reflection and openness to connection in our day, revisiting this wonderful story in God’s Word. When we do this, we would have already effectively retreated.
I guess what I am trying to say is that not even this pandemic is enough to stop us from remembering the powerful work of Christ. In fact, there is no better time to remember it than now, right when we are drowning in the horrors of our day, as our thumbs mindlessly scroll for reports that add nothing but fear and anxiety to our hours. We need to refocus and remember that there is an available anchor for our souls. We need not be swept away in this great flood.
So we want to give you this workbook as a gift and you can download it below. It begins on Maundy Thursday and ends on Easter Sunday. Every day has guide questions and activities you can do or share with the people you live with, like your parents, siblings, or your own children. For those who are keen on doing so, maybe you want to set a time to discuss your insights with friends through a video call. We would also love to hear your thoughts that were spurred, triggered, unearthed by what we have in Anchor of the Soul. Join us for a conversation in the Abide community on Instagram—just comment on a photo on the feed or share one of the templates we made for you in your Stories, and use the hashtag #AbideCommunity.
We hope that whatever you are personally feeling through this time of uncertainty, you will be helped by the stories in this workbook. We may all be tucked away in our own homes at this time, but we can still celebrate Easter collectively. And even if our festivities this year will understandably look different than last’s, our reason for celebrating remains unchanged.
