Lent me Some Celebration
Lent is not something that all Christians celebrate. I'm not totally sure which denominations do and don't participate but its something my church family always has done. Now I've tried a variety of different concessions over the years, but if I'm being totally honest, I don't think I've ever really gotten the hang of it. I've tried to give up sugar, social media, television, junk food and cursing (that last one I've never actually gone more than two days without doing so... If that's any indication of how this blog post is going to go...)
For those of you who don't know what Lent is, its (in VERY simple terms) a time of year, about six weeks before Easter, in which participating Christians give up something to atone for their sins before celebrating Christ's resurrection on Easter (you would think I would be able to spell resurrection correctly being that its pretty much one of the principle beliefs that dictate my life, but alas, not even spell check could figure out what I was trying to say before I had to google it). This was my very one dimensional view of Lent before last year. I truly thought that all this season was was a time where I just gave something up because it was what God expected of me. Oh little Kristin, how narrow-minded of you. Thankfully I have some pretty amazingly awesome friends here at Towson who, without meaning to, opened my eyes to how joyful and liberating the season of Lent can be.
Last Lent, my wonderful friend and co-leader, the illustrious Kelly Magee, asked me what I was giving up. Sort of half-heartedly and more than a little reluctantly, I answered social media for the third year in a row. It just seemed like the healthiest option I could think of that constituted a lot of sacrifice and self-denial while simultaneously forcing me to stop procrastinating my school work. It was just hard enough that I felt the pain of giving something up but didn't force me to change too much where I was really uncomfortable. The constant pursuit of comfort was something that really characterized my thoughts and decisions at the time.
In turn, I asked her what she was giving up. She responded by saying that instead of sacrificing something, she was going through a daily devotional reading called She Reads the Truth. I know now that this is actually something many Christians do, at least in Younglife, but not giving something up for Lent was a completely foreign concept to me. I thought that was the purpose of Lent. I thought we were supposed to emulate Jesus' time in the desert where he fasted for 40 days and nights while being tempted by the devil. Sacrifice, self-denial, rigid rules, suffering (albeit very minimally), Lent was not supposed to be a happy time for us. Kelly's resolution was definitely one that required discipline and self-control, but she was giving up what I think is the hardest for us to give, time and focused attention. She wanted to give up her time so that the Lord could change her heart.
Long story short, I "failed" Lent. I lasted maybe two weeks before my heart and mind were crowded with the world and I allowed the Lord's voice to be swallowed by other things. Guilt gnawed at my inner being and instead of drawing me closer to the Lord, the season of Lent made me feel like an unworthy, hypocritical outcast. I really want this time to be different.
The last year has been quite difficult for the Lord and I. We've had some miscommunications, some distance, a lot of fights (okay, so its me fighting Him, but still) and through all of this, a rediscovery of our relationship. No one likes change and I fought against it with every fiber in my being. I hated the means by which the Lord chose to go about getting my attention but I'm starting to think it was the only way He could have. I'm a stubborn child (a bit of an understatement I know) and no one knows it better than the Lord. I've become more accepting of change and less fearful of things to come. Together, the Lord and I are rebuilding and I want to celebrate.
So this Lent I have decided to dedicate myself to praise and appreciation, for the Lord and for the people in my life that have unconditionally loved and supported me. Every morning I am going to wake up an hour early (UGH, I'm regretting this already) and pick a psalm to pray through. Then I'm going to write a thank you letter to someone who has had an impact on my life and send it to them. I want to use this time to be filled with joy for the Lord and to spread that joy to others.
Now the reason I'm telling you all about this is because I want to be held accountable. I really want to create a community of support this Lent season where we can encourage one another in our time of communion with the Lord. So if you want to take part, comment on the post and by this Friday I'll create a little group and we can encourage each other in the next 40 or so day.
"We cared so deeply for you that we were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but our very lives. That is how dear you were to us." 1 Thessalonians 2:8
Love you all.
For those of you who don't know what Lent is, its (in VERY simple terms) a time of year, about six weeks before Easter, in which participating Christians give up something to atone for their sins before celebrating Christ's resurrection on Easter (you would think I would be able to spell resurrection correctly being that its pretty much one of the principle beliefs that dictate my life, but alas, not even spell check could figure out what I was trying to say before I had to google it). This was my very one dimensional view of Lent before last year. I truly thought that all this season was was a time where I just gave something up because it was what God expected of me. Oh little Kristin, how narrow-minded of you. Thankfully I have some pretty amazingly awesome friends here at Towson who, without meaning to, opened my eyes to how joyful and liberating the season of Lent can be.
Last Lent, my wonderful friend and co-leader, the illustrious Kelly Magee, asked me what I was giving up. Sort of half-heartedly and more than a little reluctantly, I answered social media for the third year in a row. It just seemed like the healthiest option I could think of that constituted a lot of sacrifice and self-denial while simultaneously forcing me to stop procrastinating my school work. It was just hard enough that I felt the pain of giving something up but didn't force me to change too much where I was really uncomfortable. The constant pursuit of comfort was something that really characterized my thoughts and decisions at the time.
In turn, I asked her what she was giving up. She responded by saying that instead of sacrificing something, she was going through a daily devotional reading called She Reads the Truth. I know now that this is actually something many Christians do, at least in Younglife, but not giving something up for Lent was a completely foreign concept to me. I thought that was the purpose of Lent. I thought we were supposed to emulate Jesus' time in the desert where he fasted for 40 days and nights while being tempted by the devil. Sacrifice, self-denial, rigid rules, suffering (albeit very minimally), Lent was not supposed to be a happy time for us. Kelly's resolution was definitely one that required discipline and self-control, but she was giving up what I think is the hardest for us to give, time and focused attention. She wanted to give up her time so that the Lord could change her heart.
Long story short, I "failed" Lent. I lasted maybe two weeks before my heart and mind were crowded with the world and I allowed the Lord's voice to be swallowed by other things. Guilt gnawed at my inner being and instead of drawing me closer to the Lord, the season of Lent made me feel like an unworthy, hypocritical outcast. I really want this time to be different.
The last year has been quite difficult for the Lord and I. We've had some miscommunications, some distance, a lot of fights (okay, so its me fighting Him, but still) and through all of this, a rediscovery of our relationship. No one likes change and I fought against it with every fiber in my being. I hated the means by which the Lord chose to go about getting my attention but I'm starting to think it was the only way He could have. I'm a stubborn child (a bit of an understatement I know) and no one knows it better than the Lord. I've become more accepting of change and less fearful of things to come. Together, the Lord and I are rebuilding and I want to celebrate.
So this Lent I have decided to dedicate myself to praise and appreciation, for the Lord and for the people in my life that have unconditionally loved and supported me. Every morning I am going to wake up an hour early (UGH, I'm regretting this already) and pick a psalm to pray through. Then I'm going to write a thank you letter to someone who has had an impact on my life and send it to them. I want to use this time to be filled with joy for the Lord and to spread that joy to others.
Now the reason I'm telling you all about this is because I want to be held accountable. I really want to create a community of support this Lent season where we can encourage one another in our time of communion with the Lord. So if you want to take part, comment on the post and by this Friday I'll create a little group and we can encourage each other in the next 40 or so day.
"We cared so deeply for you that we were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but our very lives. That is how dear you were to us." 1 Thessalonians 2:8
Love you all.
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