I didn't grow up in the church. I had no concept of what lent was when I first became a Christian and I wasn't in the denominations of churches that preached about lent or practiced giving something up in the days preceding Easter. Consequently, I have seldom had a lent goal. I think that this may mark the fourth non-consecutive year that I have observed lent so I'm definitely not the person to ask if you have questions about lent.
All I know is that this year I feel compelled to give something up in conjunction with lent, or more specifically give something AWAY each day of lent. Wednesday I gave two puzzles to a local mental hospital. Thursday I gave a nearly new box of pads away and had to almost immediately replace them. Today I gave away half of my ice trays to a young mom who didn't have any. For the rest of the Lenten season, I will post something at the bottom of the post marking what I gave away that day without creating any more fanfare, as a means of accountability and record keeping.
I have also challenged Miracle to make a commitment for the next forty days, but rather than giving something up, I am asking her to add something into her schedule. I am asking her to write down one or more things each day that she is thankful for. I am doing this partially because of where she is and that I think adding thanksgiving into her life is a natural compliment to her current efforts of removing other things. I am also doing it because I know how much it has helped me in just two months. The real push came when I read this article while sitting in a hospital lobby. So, I presented Miracle with a challenge in conjunction with lent. She is choosing to make her thanksgiving list private and I understand that. There are often things that I am thankful for that I cannot put here but I choose to continue making that list public and just not count those things that are not mentioned here.
What about you? Do you have a Lenten goal this year? If you do, I would be blessed if you would choose to share it with me here. If you choose to share, I will pray that God gives you the strength and ability to reach that goal and that He blesses you and draws you closer to Him as the season progresses. Pray for Miracle. Pray for me. Let's pray for each other.
