Observing Lent

I grew up in a home influenced by Catholic tradition. Those traditions blended seamlessly into the faith my family raised me in. Observing Lent was one of those traditions, largely practiced by Catholics, that has greatly influenced my faith and prepared my heart for Easter on a deeper level over the years.

Lent is the period of 40 days, beginning on Ash Wednesday and continuing till the celebration of Easter Sunday. It is meant to be a season of reflection and preparation. It is intended that by observing these days of Lent, Christians personally replicate Jesus Christ's sacrifice and withdrawal into the desert for 40 days.

There have been two Lenten observations that have particularly pricked my heart through the years.

 The first being when I was in junior high and gave up candy and gum. For my 13-year-old self, I was impacted by this as I prayed each time I wanted sweets or gum. It took me aback how much time I spent praying, compared to what I normally did in daily life. The second being when I chose to give up a bag of my things, every day for all of those forty days. I am a keeper. I keep nostalgia, I keep clothes (if they still fit, even if they are no longer in style), I keep trinkets and I keep movie ticket stubs to remind me of memorable moments in front of the big screen - you get the picture of my keeping. During those days, I sorted and donated, I combed through and discarded, I rid myself of 40 bags of things. I had no idea that cleansing and letting go could be so freeing. This act reminded me of the cleaning and letting go of olds sins. Those sins that I hold onto and shame myself with. If God was not keeping them boxed away, why? Why? Why was I?

For this Lenten season, I gave up chocolate, sugar and carbohydrates. Admittedly, this has proved to be a struggle every day that has passed since February 26th.

However.

This year Lent and letting go and giving up and surrendering my needs has been so much more tangible and heart wrenching than depriving myself of a Milky Way Midnight or a straight from the oven piece of bread slathered with butter. Maybe, these past days have been this way for you.

Instead of depriving myself of something tangible, God has placed on my heart this verse in regard to this specific Lenten observation. “Tear (rend) your heart, and not your garments or clothes.” Joel 2:13

How am I tearing my heart so as to permanently change it?

Here is what I am seeing God asking of me during these Lenten Days…

God is asking me to surrender what is most important to me in my life. My Family. He is calling me to not hold onto them, but instead to pray with my hands open. To bring them before the altar of the Lord. Leave them there. Place them in God’s hands and trust that He has a plan for every day, every moment, of their lives. God is calling me to trust Him with what I love and value most.

God is showing me that I need to “Pray without ceasing.” I Thessalonians 5:17. He is calling me out of my worry. He is drawing me to prayer. He is calling me to give up Netflix and novels, for a time, and to pray instead. He is calling me to pray and praise as I walk outside instead of ruminating and stewing on the day's events. He is calling me to observe II Corinthians 10:5b which clearly admonishes me to “Take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ.” This convicts me, most especially at this time causing me to pause, “Am I really showing love, not just in my actions but in the thoughts I allow to perch in my mind?

God is calling me to a different level of observing Lent, is He calling you?

My prayer for myself today, and my prayer for you if you will come beside me in this Lenten observation, is that after the celebration of Easter Sunday has come and gone that I will maintain where God has brought my heart during these 40 days. That my heart will be torn and changed.