Today is the beginning of Lent, the season of prayer and repentance for many Christians around the world. It’s a very special Lent for me since it’s my first as part of the Catholic Church. I grew up in Protestant churches and Lent was never mentioned or observed in any of the denominations we attended (yes, it was more than one). In fact, most of my life I didn’t even know what Lent was. My husband and I decided to start attending a Catholic Church 2 ½ years ago, though, and officially joined the Church last Easter {more on our conversion in an upcoming post}. So now that I am aware and observing Lent with my own family, I wanted to give careful consideration to what I would give up & pick up for my very first Lent.
I love the idea of picking up and giving up something for Lent. In this way I could sacrifice something I enjoy in remembrance of the sacrifice Jesus made for me and replace it with an act of good or worship in gratitude for my salvation. I wanted my choices to be ones that reflect the magnitude of the Lord’s sacrifice, and my humble gratitude for it. As I began to mull it over and attempted to identify things that seemed to fit the bill, however, I struggled to come up with anything that seemed adequate. I mean, the salvation of our souls is as big as it gets. How can we actually say “Thank you” for eternal life?
Is it possible to choose a Lenten sacrifice or act that will sufficiently honor what God did for us? This question was key for me. While I was trying to imagine what kind of acts could possibly represent my sorrow and repentance or my gratitude, I realized that I’m actually incapable of expressing either. So much for my amazing first Lent, huh? As I continued to ponder this through to its logical conclusion {as an INFJ does}, the answer came to me rather quickly and easily. As humans we can use the greatest gift we’ve been given to honor the Giver. Use our lives to honor God. Live this life in a way that honors and pleases Him.
God is most interested in and impressed by our hearts. There is no perfect Lenten sacrifice or act. What we choose is less important than where it comes from. Whether we choose to give up candy, or driving a car, or spending money is of far less importance than the spirit with which we give it. God surely knows we’re just imperfect humans. As we reflect on the sacrifice He made for us, God simply wants us to look deep inside ourselves and sacrifice from our hearts, and that will look different for everyone. What is a huge sacrifice for one person may be simple for another. The what is less significant than the why.
There are millions of right answers to the question of what we should give up & pick up for Lent. Every act is sufficient when it’s done in the spirit of honor, repentance, and love for our God who first loved us.
So what did I choose? I chose to honor God by treating my body as His Temple for the first time in my life. Although I’ve always known this is how we’re commanded by God to treat our bodies, I’ve never honestly taken it seriously. I’ve viewed my body as mine for the past 36 years, and I know that it will require a consciousness and awareness every minute of my day, in every decision I make, to shift my perspective. This will keep my mind focused on the Lord in all I do, which is certainly a habit I should be in. I’ll be picking up daily prayer, a very clean and minimal diet, adequate sleep and daily exercise. I’ll be carefully monitoring my thoughts and mental energy while giving up mindless, self-indulgent media consumption, foods that do not serve my body nutritionally, and negative thoughts/words. Giving up my own personal desires in favor of what God actually wants for my mind, body, heart, and soul is a sacrifice I hope will help me to reflect upon my selfish tendencies and all the ways I’ve chosen my way over God’s, and also honor Him and show my gratitude for the gift of this life and the life to come.
If you’re still deciding on your Lenten acts, I highly recommend spending some time in prayer. Ask God what He wants you to do, how you can serve, or what will help you to grow most in your faith. Ponder the elements of Lent- prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Whatever it is you choose to give up & pick up for Lent, what matters most is that you do it because you’re sorry for your sins and grateful that God loved YOU so much that He chose to suffer and die Himself to ensure He could spend eternity with YOU.
