Preparation for Lent

Ash Wednesday is tomorrow. Lent begins.

Some people give up things for Lent, such as chocolate or alcohol. One year I gave up "loose bread," which was defined as any bread that wasn't a part of something, such as a sandwich. Loose bread is good. Then there's always the child who gives up peas or beets.

This year I'm giving up worry and sadness. With a God who loves me, shouldn't I be living in joy?

Jesus was fully human. That meant he was familiar with worry and sadness. And there's that shortest verse in the bible, "Jesus wept." So worry and sadness aren't something to be cast aside for good because they are part of the deal with being human. But for 40 days, I'm going to be reaching for joy.

I'm getting ahead of myself here. Ever since I took that Defeating Your Self-Defeating Behaviors class, I've been reflecting on the ways I'd like to live my life differently. I'd like to make living differently a habit, so that living differently is the way I live. It takes 37 days to change a habit, so I'm going to use Lent, which is 40 days, as my framework. To stay on track, I will journal every day. Don't worry. I won't do it here.

I've always shied away from using Lent as an excuse to prove that something isn't a problem or to change something that is. That's not about giving to God. That's about giving to Anne. I've known alcoholics who gave up drinking for Lent as a way to prove to themselves that they weren't alcoholics. If they make it for 40 days, they can go back to their drinking and feel okay, they've proved they don't have a problem.

I shy away from fasting because I'm afraid my motive would not be to get closer to God, but to lose 10 pounds.

So I've had to do a lot of thinking about how to make Lent a spiritual season for me while trying to accomplish goals. And you know what? For once, I believe that changing my life in ways that are surely more pleasing to God and make me a joyful Christian will make Lent a deeply spiritual season for me.

Others may mark the Lenten season by giving up something, paying attention, studying and praying or choosing a service, such as making regular visits to prisons, nursing homes or other places where people live and are forgotten.

Even if you aren't Christian, a season of reflection can be of benefit. I look outside at the resting, winter world. Though most things look dead or dormant, there are things going on beneath the surface. Nature is preparing for spring.

When it arrives, I pray that we'll all be blooming with joy and expectation, too.

Comments

[Angry]

Does one say "Happy Lent"?

As a non-Christian, Anne, I won't be taking up my Lent options. So I would like to transfer them to you in the hope that they add strength to your quest to achieve a successful outcome for yourself.

Hey I just realised... for the first time in my life I’m consciously giving up something for Lent. Lent.