'Twas the Night Before Lent
'Twas the Night Before Lent...and I finally decided what I am going to do for those 40 days.
Generally, I have been a member of a church that did not really mention Lent and did not do an Ash Wednesday service; therefore, I never fully participated nor was I educated.
I am now working in a church that fully celebrates Lent. I am very excited. I educated myself a bit today, and it made me even MORE excited. The symbolism of Ash Wednesday and Lent itself are amazing to me. It's even more fitting that I am currently experiencing a time where I am on a journey of suffering and strengthening my relationship with God. It is all perfect timing (but of course, because we are talking about The Lord...).
I know a lot of people give things up during Lent, which I will be doing as well. However, the Lord not only takes away the sins of the world, but he also ADDS a lot to my life. Therefore, I am going to add some things to my life so that I may find more ways to worship the Lord. So, I am going to give up one thing and add three things (in accordance to the three positive comments per negative comment thing you always learn as an educator).
During Lent season, I will not be giving up something that is material. I thought about giving up sodas, which I do often drink, but there is something more important I need to give up entirely. I am giving up PRIDE. I too often become entirely too prideful. I take credit for work that is never mine, but the Lord's. I also take pride in knowledge. In all reality, I know nothing. All I know is that I need to believe and follow in the Lord. So, I will be giving up pride for Lent. If I feel myself becoming prideful, I will stop and pray.
As for the three things I will be adding, you are reading one of them right now. I will be blogging about this journey with Christ every day. I am NOT good at this, so this will take some work. I have been experiencing a lot with the Lord and would love to share this with people. The next thing I will be adding is an extra 20 minutes in prayer each day. If there are more minutes added...well, the more, the merrier! The last thing I will be adding is more GIVING, whether that be more money (actually tithing) to my church, volunteering for a while each week, being there for someone, etc. I believe these actions will help my pride. I will be able to focus on the Lord and also focus on OTHERS before me.
Lent is inspired by when Jesus went away for 40 days and then was tempted by Satan. This time will be taken to become stronger against the enemy and to gain clarity. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). Lent is not always easy for us, but it is certainly do-able, especially because it is only 40 days.
Last night, I began to truly repent when I wrote all of the sins I could remember on a piece of paper. It is interesting to see how much you sin when it is all written down (it is a LOT more than you think!). After this, I read the paper as confession to the Lord. I then proceeded to burn the paper and my sins became ashes. How appropriate for what many people will experience tomorrow. Unfortunately, the Snowpocalypse 2015 is preventing me from attending an Ash Wednesday service tomorrow. However, I do know I do not NEED the service to kick off Lent (even though it is super cool how the ashes are made!). I will keep the mindset throughout the day though as if I were attending such a service and participating in such symbolisms. Thankfully, I did not have to wear the sakcloth when I burned that paper. Instead of being reminded of how painful sin is, I am constantly reminded of love--the greatest love of all.
Stay tuned for experiences, devotions, and my journey with Christ. God bless you all!
