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My Lent thoughts this week have circled around and around the fact that the very things I have supposedly “given up” or “sacrificed” are proving to be of really great benefit. I mean, there is some truth to the fact that some comforts have been adjusted or eliminated from my routine but there isn’t anything that hasn’t turned out to be incredibly helpful to me. Yes, giving up certain aspects of media and the morning snooze thing, and other supposed losses, have all become very beneficial on several levels, practical and spiritual. So, here is my dilemma. I have oft been told that one of the main reasons to give up things for Lent is in order to experience a hint, even a hint of the sacrifice of Christ for us. The idea being that if we can enter into that suffering, even a little, we will experience benefits of experience. Well, nothing I have “given up” feels even close to suffering or sacrifice, even a hint of it.
We’re about halfway through our journey towards Lent, so my intention in the remaining days is to think, ponder and reflect more deeply and more fully and more directly on the suffering of Christ. One great thing about the comforts I have “given up” is that it has given more time for prayer and solitude, so I guess the first half of the journey has merited redemptive value. I’m anxious to see what happens next!