It's Lent, Now What?

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent .....now what? Lent is a 6 1/2 week period before Easter and the celebration of our Lord's resurrection. It is a time for us to focus on the amazing sacrifice that Christ has made for each and every one of us. To help us remember Christ's sacrifice and walk, it is customary for people to "give up" something for Lent. Typically people give up indulgences like sweets, caffeine, or TV. If you are going to choose to give something up for Lent, it should be something that you are going to notice, something that might be a struggle to give up for 6 1/2 weeks. This can be a difficult concept for adults, much less children....let me give you a peak into how the Lenten discussion typically goes in our home.

Me: "So, what have you decided to give up for Lent?"
Child: "I was thinking about giving up homework, or maybe I will give up doing chores."
Me: "Nice try, but that isn't really going to be a sacrifice on your part, you want to give those things up."
Child: "Ok, I'll think about it some more."

When it is all said and done our children usually find something noticeable, but not to challenging to do without. Things like...watching a certain tv show, playing a particular computer game, or a specific type of sweet. They have also tried to give up certain behaviors....not saying a certain word, being kind to a certain person, not waiting to be asked to do something they know needs to be done and just doing it.

So what is the point? Well, in our family giving up something for Lent can challenge us in many ways. It helps us to see that we have "extra" things in our life that we can truly do without. It helps us remember that our life is not our own, and that we should be focused on what God's plan is for us everyday. It helps us practice our self-control. Lent also helps us to build memories as a family, as it seems many remember what you gave up the year before and the "funny" instance that occurred when you forgot.

In recent years, there has been a movement to add something to your life instead of giving something up. People I know have added: reading a devotion, a weekly service project, collecting their change for a certain mission, or an activity with their family. I think this is a great idea, however, I still look at it as giving something up because you are giving up the time you used for something else....semantics.

So whether you choose to give something up or add something or change nothing at all, let me encourage you to remember the sacrifice Christ has made for all of us. Christ, who had no sin, died to take away our sin. Christ, who was blameless, died to take our blame. Christ, who had a perfect relationship with God the Father, left Him and came to earth to provide a way for us to have a relationship with Him. Without Christ and His sacrifice, my days would be meaningless.