LENT

This past Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent. My favorite time of the year. As I stared at the ashes on my forehead that were in the shape of a cross I remembered that I was once dust and to dust I shall return one day. These words always humble me and remind me of the sacrifice Jesus so graciously made for us. 

I grew up celebrating Lent. It has always held such a special place in my heart. This is probably an unpopular opinion but I love Easter more than Christmas. The fact that God would send His Son to die for me continues to boggle my mind. 

I think I also really appreciate the seriousness of the Lenten season. The idea of giving up something or adding a discipline into your life for 40 days, sticking to it, and seeing it through brings me closer to Jesus. If Lent is not familiar to you let me give some very simple background on why people give things up for Lent.  

Jesus fasted and suffered for 40 days and nights in the desert while being tempted by the devil. He fought back with scripture and resisted the devil even when He could have easily gotten Himself out of the situation. (check out Matthew 4:1-11) 

That’s why people give something up for Lent. It gives us just a taste of the suffering Jesus went through in the desert and on the cross. We must persevere and resist the temptation for 40 days. It reminds us that we have a Savior that put Himself through hell so that we could have life. 

Just for reflection purposes let me name some things I have given up in the past for Lent. Most of these are silly. I didn’t quite understand the reason for depriving myself during Lent so I kinda just picked anything! Here are some examples: Gum (pretty sure I was like 9 when I did this one), social media (best thing I’ve ever done), and sugar. Those are the only ones I can remember at the moment but I’m sure I gave up other silly things in the past. 

This year I’ve decided to add a discipline for 40 days instead of giving something up. For the past couple years I have been so inconsistent with reading God’s Word daily. Sometimes I do it in the morning, sometimes afternoon, most times not at all. I am so determined this Lenten season to break this cycle of inconsistency. 

I have promised myself that I will get up every day and read God’s word before I do anything else. No phone, no speaking to Caleb (he’s asleep anyway), no chores or other tasks to distract me. As soon as my feet hit the floor I will open God’s word to read and pray. 

I will see this through. I will do this well. Because at my worst I was worth Jesus to God. 

As a follower of Jesus, it is my calling to put Him first. May I ignore the desires of my flesh and remember the One who sacrificed everything for me. 

I would love your prayer as I commit to doing this for the next several weeks. I pray that I resist the temptation of my flesh. That I ignore the voice that tells me to go back to sleep or that I can do it later. That I remember the suffering my Father put Himself through so that He could save me.  

I would love to know what y’all are doing for your Lenten discipline or if you celebrate Lent at all, I wanna know! Let’s partner together and pray for each other and we enter into this season.