I grew up in a Roman Catholic household. We have always observed the Roman Catholic days on the calendar such as Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday. I have never been that girl that makes it to Mass every Sunday morning or Saturday afternoon and I forget to say my prayers many evenings. I tend to go to a non-denominational Church instead of Mass. And no - I couldn't tell you 5 memorized versus in the Bible right here, right now. But, does that make me a bad Christian? I don't think so. God loves all his children, even when we aren't focused solely on Him, even when we lose sight of what's really important. Him. He knows, I mess up ALL the time. And that's okay. So in this celebration of our Lord Jesus Christ, let's remember, Lent is the perfect time to shed some light on my mistakes and grow closer in my relationship with God.
Tomorrow is the best Tuesday of the year, Fat Tuesday. The day we can eat whatever we want like it's Thanksgiving or Christmas and not feel guilty about it. Come on, I'm Catholic - I've got enough guilt to go around. Then it's Ash Wednesday and you can watch all these people get ash markings on their heads, trust me you'll see mine! What do the ashes signify? When God drove our first parents from the Garden, he reminded Adam, “you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). We hear these words each year on Ash Wednesday, when the priest places ashes on our foreheads, a reminder of our mortality and the seriousness of the Lenten pilgrimage we are about to begin. This Wednesday marks the official start of Lent. Lent is a time where we are called to give something up for 40 days, coinciding with the 40 days that Jesus went into the desert. During this time, he was tempted by the devil and roamed around the desert. When he returned that is when he is crucified and died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead on the third day, Sunday (Easter). He sacrificed his life for us, the least we can do is give something up for 40 days while we reflect on our own lives and sacrifice something with Jesus.
There are many things to give up for 40 days, depending on what you struggle with. Be honest with yourself and choose something that is going to be a challenge. Giving up something to not only better yourself, but to better your relationship with the Lord. In years past that has been dessert, popcorn, chips, etc. for me. These foods that I always thought I couldn't live without. Many do drinking or late night snacking, even social media is a huge time consumer that many millennial's give up for 40 days. One year, I chose to not give up something and instead to write 40 letters to 40 different people to let them know how important they are in my life. I was journaling to God one night, just writing down my prayers and I felt an urge to tell people I was grateful for them. Trust me, I'm still working on continuing to do this today. So, as you are trying to think of things to "give up" why not "give up time" and do something productive with it? Like writing letters, or going to the gym. Something small can go a long way.
So, if you are still lost on what to give up (or what to do), here are some ideas for you broken down more easily:
To Give Up:
1. The snooze button. Even that 10 extra minutes. That's 10 extra minutes you could be doing something else, something productive. Try to get up right when the alarm goes off. Stop being late to work.
2. Fast from coffee, tea, caffeine etc. If it is an addiction, it is healthy to cleanse yourself once in a while. So why not start now? At least cutting back is a good start. I've gotten myself down to one cup of coffee a day as my caffeine and I'm pretty proud of myself.
3. Give up social media. I said it up top but, what a crazy thought, right? If you don't want to give it up completely and still tend to overuse try deleting your apps off of your phone and see how that works.
4. Fast from negativity. Life is too short to worry about the small things.
To Give To:
1. Give your time away. By this I mean take the time to talk to someone else who needs it, lend that pen you know you won't get back to a classmate who needs it. Like I said before, writing letters! Send notes. Meet people for coffee. It's important.
2. Collect all of those old clothes you have and give them to goodwill, or donate them somewhere. They will do so much more good than sitting in your closet collecting dust.
3. Give yourself silence. A few moments of mindfullness can go a long way. May sound weird, but how often are you actually just completely alone and give yourself time to gather your thoughts? No music, no Netflix, just complete self-reflection even for five minutes.
4. Give to yourself. Pray a little more. Enjoy alone time a little more. Be present in the moment. Simple, but man oh man is it hard.
This isn't the the only list of things to give up or to do for Lent. But it is a little bit of a non-traditional way of thinking what to give up, because hey - that's me. If you still plan on giving up some sort of food that is also a huge step. As long as it is something that will positively affect your life and possibly add a good routine to your days then I say go for it! I'm gluten free, so I feel like I'm giving up enough!
So, happy Lent season my brothers and sisters. I hope your relationship with the Lord continues to grow this Easter season. You matter - God made you in his image and his image purely. So, let's celebrate our Lord Jesus Christ. We don't know what lies ahead, but we have to trust that God has a plan. He knows and that gives me peace.
"Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from Your presence, And do not take the Spirit of Your holiness away from me. Restore to me the gladness of Your salvation, And sustain me with a willing spirit." Psalm 51:10-12
-- Lex --