Haiku is an ancient Japanese form of poetry consisting of seventeen syllables in three lines of five, seven, and five. In a mysterious way, the strict limitation sometimes evokes stronger expression.
I was inspired in 2025 to write daily haiku after reading Emily P. Freeman’s haiku in her Lenten Collection for her Quiet Collection app. The practice was so meaningful that I have continued it this year.
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and continues until Holy Saturday (the day before Easter). The total number of calendar days in that span is 46 days. However, there are six Sundays during Lent. Because each Sunday is considered a weekly celebration of the Resurrection—a “mini-Easter”—they are not included in the penitential 40-day count.
When a specific Scripture passage or reading has inspired an entry, it is noted in parenthesis.
Ash Wednesday
And so it begins
You have felt so distant, Lord.
Dare I beg you now?
I take a deep breath
It’s Lent. I will ask boldly:
Make your presence known.
Lent Day 2, Thursday
Do not fret yourself.
The psalmist said it clearly.
Put your trust in God.
(Psalm 37)
Lent Day 3, Friday
Whatever is true
Whatever is just and pure
Think on these things.
(Philippians 4:8)
Lent Day 4, Saturday
Memorized scripture
is mine wherever I go
God speaking to me
This line when I’m sad:
“…but joy comes in the morning…”
brings hope and comfort
(Psalm 30:5b)
First Sunday in Lent
Life’s not “either/or”
Each side insists it is right
My way or nothing
Dark exists with Light
Death with Life; Hope with Despair
Embrace the tension
Lent Day 5, Monday
The question for Lent
is not “What will I give up?”
but “Who will I be?”
(inspired by A Grown-Up Lent by Joanna Leiserson)
Lent Day 6, Tuesday
A better question
As I seek God during Lent:
”Whose will I be now?”
(inspired by A Grown-Up Lent by Joanna Leiserson)
Lent Day 7, Wednesday
Did Jesus have doubts?
Did he struggle with his faith?
He was human too.
Day 8, Thursday
I’ve made space each day
To draw near and be quiet
You are all around.
Day 9, Friday
Scripture is quite clear
Our body is a temple
Of the Holy Spirit
I must take more care
In what I eat…how I move
To steward this gift.
(1 Cor 6: 19-20 and 1 Cor 3: 16-17)
Day 10, Saturday
Love God. Love others.
Love is always the answer.
But it’s not easy.
(Mark 12:28-31)
Second Sunday in Lent
Rest on the sabbath
What does “rest” mean for me?
I rest in thee, Lord.
Lent 11, Monday
God is in plain sight
The sacred is everywhere
I must pause to see
Lent 12, Tuesday
Should I chase answers
To life, to faith, to purpose…
Or live with the questions?
(inspired by The Four Vision Quests of Jesus by Steven Charleston)
Lent 13, Wednesday
Impulse to find God
Is central to every faith
Seek and ye shall find
(inspired by The Four Vision Quests of Jesus by Steven Charleston and Matthew 7:7)
Lent 14, Thursday
Interrelated:
All things…all humanity
One hurts…we all hurt
(inspired by The Four Vision Quests of Jesus by Steven Charleston and Matthew 7:7)
Lent 15, Friday
I can’t shake the thought:
Christ is The Great Disruptor
Scary…thrilling too
(inspired by Lectio365.com 3/4/26)
Lent 16, Saturday
They were prayer warriors
Desert Fathers and Mothers
Seeking God and Truth
(inspired by Lectio365.com Lent series introduction)
Third Sunday in Lent
This is my struggle:
Can I trust God with my prayers?
Most seem unanswered
But is this the point?
Unanswered is not unheard
So I keep praying
Lent 17, Monday
A new day, new week
Beginnings are so hopeful
What’s your hope this week?
Lent 18, Tuesday
Spring peepers are out
Such a raucous, joyful sound
New growth all around
Lent 19, Wednesday
Living the questions
I overthink everything
Faith asks me to trust
Lent 20, Thursday
God the Creator
Is easy to believe in
Just look at Nature
The rest is harder
Son of God? Dying for sins?
Help my unbelief
(Inspired by Mark 9:24)
We’re halfway through the 40 days of Lent.
Lent 21, Friday
Yet that still small voice
Whispers louder than my doubts:
“It’s all about Love.”
Lent 22, Saturday
For twenty-four hours,
I didn’t pick up my phone
My husband loved it
I like digital
But it is a distraction
People matter more
Fourth Sunday in Lent
Sabbath rest is here
Pause from Lenten disciplines
Rejoice and give thanks
Lent 23, Monday
Miracle of God:
A world in every raindrop
And worlds within worlds
(inspired by a photo postcard from Holly Cook Photography and “The Answer,” written by Richie Sambora and Bruce Foster and sung by Richie Sambora)
Lent 24, Tuesday
Erasable pens
Perfect for editing poems
Not so good for life
Lent 25, Wednesday
Such a tricky word
“Why?” fuels creativity
And great inventions
But it’s the question
That faith grapples with each day
Why this, Lord? Why me?
Lent 26, Thursday
The world’s need…so great
I am only one person
Show me how to help
Lent 27, Friday
I want to do all
But it’s not all mine to do
Teach me discernment
Lent 28, Saturday
Just two weeks from now
we recall your empty tomb
The fear and despair
Fifth Sunday in Lent
Sundays are different
Each a mini Easter Day
A Resurrection
Lent 29, Monday
Hope needs space to grow
Our job is to plow out this space
From the rubble of life
(Inspired by Emily P. Freeman’s Lent Collection in her Quiet app)
Lent 30, Tuesday
Some seem to be lost
No one is beyond God’s love
Don’t give up on them
Lent 31, Wednesday
We are all wounded
Even those we think are not
Be compassionate
Lent 32, Thursday
Pride gets in our way
It’s okay to ask for help
It lets others share
Lent 33, Friday
Childhood memories
hold clues to our best self
To God’s plan for us
(inspired by this post in Amelia Wilson’s “Happy on Purpose” publication
Lent 34, Saturday
Quiet time is key
How else can we hear your voice…
Find clarity?
Palm Sunday
Renew and restore
That’s the purpose of Sabbath
The gift of worship
Lent 35, Monday
Blessed are those who mourn
So many kinds of grief, loss
Christ promised comfort
Lent 36, Tuesday
When my own faith wanes
I borrow from the great ones
Who chose to persevere
Therese of Lisieux
Bonhoeffer, John of the Cross
Mother Teresa
Lent 37, Wednesday
What would it be like
To see through Jesus’s eyes
With love, compassion?
Would I stop striving…
Stop worrying, be braver…
Be less quick to judge?
(Inspired by Lectio365 post on 3/9/26)
Lent 38, Thursday
This was their last night
Tomorrow the world would change
How could they have known?
He tried to tell them
What is He telling me know?
Am I listening?
Lent 39, Good Friday
Death comes to us all
But not like that—on a cross
The horror of it…
I think of Mary
Her mother’s heart was broken
Hope waits in the dark
Lent 40, Holy Saturday
He made promises
In their grief, did they recall?
Was despair too deep?
This in between day
Waiting in fear and lost dreams
Are you waiting too?
Easter Sunday
Inconceivable
The rolled stone, the empty tomb
Yes! He is risen!
But what does it mean?
Today, after all these years?
Grace calls…I follow
Lent Calls
Love day 5 and 6!