We are about to embark on our forty-day Lenten journey that recalls the ancient Israelites, who spent forty years wandering in the Sinai desert. That journey from Egypt to Israel could have been made in well under a month, but our desert ancestors needed those years of desert life to encounter God more deeply with each passing day. They made lots of mistakes along the way too—we all remember the golden calf incident. Their journey shows us that it takes time to learn to listen to God’s voice and to respond to it. Even as long as forty years.