Not Your Average Belly Button Lent

"What is Lent? For some Christians, Lent has always been a part of their spiritual life and practice, but for others it is unfamiliar. Lent is the season when Christians have historically prepared their hearts for Easter with reflection, repentance, and prayer. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday and proceeds for forty days, culminating in Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Since Sundays are weekly celebrations of the resurrection of Jesus, the six Sundays in Lent are not counted as part of the forty-day season. Many Christians choose to fast throughout the season of Lent, but the focus in not so much on depriving themselves of something as it is on devoting themselves to God and his purposes in the world." Devotions for Lent- Holy Mosaic Bible

Growing up our family observed Lent. I remember every year we had to decide what we were going to "give up." The result was often candy, chocolate,pop, sometimes t.v. *cringe,* and we rose to the challenge.  I always looked forward to Lent because I thought it was cool to try to be disciplined enough to give something up for forty days.  With each chocolate bar I refused, I patted myself on the back a little, and when Easter finally arrived, I dug into that chocolate with no abandon. If I learned anything, it was that I could survive without something for a short period of time. But, it was never really a sacrifice, because when the time was up, I could have all that I wanted.  Lent used to be viewed as a challenge, a competition if you will, a test of our will power.

As I reflect on what I have 'given up' in the past, and what I will give up this year, I admit that it is still kind of a game for me.  What can I 'give up' that would either A. be the most challenging, or B. "get by" giving up fairly easily. But this is not the point. The purpose of Lent is not to see how disciplined I can be, and to be awarded a gold star each day. The purpose of Lent is to be intentional, reflective, repentive, and above all dependent. During this season of preparation, we are to either surrender something or take on something that will draw us closer to Jesus, that will shape our thoughts and change our hearts. We are to set apart these 40 days to really remember our dependence on Him, and the significance of His death for us. Then, after 40 days of seeking, praying, and fasting, we will be ready to truly rejoice in the miracle of that glorious ressurection Sunday. We'll see past the colored eggs, and pastel candy, for the King we have been lamenting is risen! How wonderful that each year, we get to set aside a time like this to re-focus our lives, our human condition, and remember our own ressurection stories? My prayer is that this year, and each year to come, we will not go through the motions of Easter, but that we will live it!

So, having said all of this, for the next forty days, I am going to be posting scripture or passages relating to the Lenten season. If you have never partcipated before, than I would encourage you to do so this year. I still don't know what I'm going to 'give up,' but I do know that I want these next forty days to be different.  Whatever I do give up, I want to replace it with God, not just a gold star. I'll finish with a quote from one of my Lent devotionals:

E.M. Bounds "All God's plans have the mark of the cross on them, and all His plans have death to self in them."

May that cross be etched on our hearts as we remember whose hands held the nails.