Unwrap Hope
On the fourth Sunday of Lent, Rosa expected something shiny on the Lenten Table. Instead, she saw a folded white cloth strip tied with a loose knot. Beside it sat a small jar that smelled like cinnamon.
A note said: “UNWRAP HOPE.”
Leo touched the knot. “Are we allowed to untie it?”
“Not yet,” Dad said. “Let it teach you first. Today’s Gospel is about Lazarus. Everyone thought the story was over… but Jesus called him back.”
That afternoon, rain tapped the windows, and the house felt sleepy. Millie was in a grumpy mood because her best friend had moved away.
“I miss her,” Millie sniffed. “It feels like my happy is gone.”
Rosa didn’t know what to say. She looked at the Lenten Table and the knotted cloth. It looked like a little “stuck” feeling.
So, Rosa had an idea. “Let’s make a Hope Tent,” she told Leo. They draped blankets over chairs, tucked pillows inside, and hung a paper sign: “IF YOU FEEL SAD, COME IN.”
They invited Millie first. Inside the tent, Leo brought the cinnamon jar. “Smell this,” he said.
Millie sniffed and blinked. “It smells like cookies,” she whispered.
“Exactly,” Rosa said. “Hope smells like something good is still possible.”
They made a “Hope List” on a notepad: write a name, a memory, a thank you, a next step.
Millie wrote: “I can draw a picture for my friend.” She also wrote: “I can ask Mom to help me send it.”
Later, Grandpa called on the phone. When Dad mentioned Millie’s sadness, Grandpa told a story about losing a friend long ago, and how people helped him when he felt wrapped up in heavy feelings.
“Sometimes,” Grandpa said, “we need others to help untie the knots.”
At dinner, Dad brought everyone to the Lenten Table. “Now,” he said, “we untie it together.”
Each person loosened one part of the knot until the cloth opened flat and free.
Dad said, “When Jesus called Lazarus out, Lazarus still needed help taking off the wrappings. That’s what we do for each other, especially in Lent.”
Millie pressed the white cloth to her cheek like it was soft snow. “So, I’m not stuck,” she said.
“Nope,” Leo answered. “You’re loved. And love is good at unwrapping.”
The cinnamon smell lingered in the air, like a promise.
From the Lenten Table Series, inspired by John 11:1-45 (Lazarus).
