I was a bit shocked when he became disoriented. Turns out being in the ICU for long periods can cause you to lose your sense of time, place, and identity. We were not made to remain in the same four walls without routine or rhythm.

He’s not the only one. Each time we changed rooms or nurses or meds, I too felt like I lost my bearings. It took time to settle into the routine of the new space. I began to expect it. What I didn’t expect was that feeling would follow me home. Another change in the plan meant we headed home earlier than expected.

Oh, how excited and relieved to be going home. I thought being home would mean I could finally sleep all night or veg on the couch watching a good movie. I thought wrong. Even though we were home, it all felt off. I found it hard to settle, and sleep didn’t come easily.

It reveals a small portion of the suffering Jesus endured. Because just being here, on earth, was a displacement from his normal position. God chose to limit his infinite wisdom, might, and power to become the very thing he created. He willingly entered a specific time and place to be near us and to show us the way to life everlasting.

Disoriented describes Jesus’ entire life on earth. It went far beyond his forty days in the wilderness. From the moment of Christ’s conception until Resurrection Day, he endured being displaced from his normal position and relationship to God.

Perhaps Lent is exactly the right time and space to reflect on our own disorientation, and allow it to draw us closer to the only One who can truly reorient us from the inside out.

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
_{Colossians 3:1-4 NLT}