Growing up Lutheran, it was a major holiday. But all I recall about it is Ash Wednesday. The appeal for a child: black ashes on your forehead that your mom actually won't wipe off -- immediately anyway. And that's about it. A lot of people I knew gave up something, but they were Catholic. Lutherans didn't always do that.
Lent is not Biblical, at least not in the sense that Easter and Christmas are actual events. Lent is not a day or even a ritual recognized in the text. But it is Biblical to the extent that (when practiced as intended) it celebrates disciplines that we should be incorporating in our walk with Christ -- fasting, praying, meditating, etc. -- all in an effort to grow closer with our Savior. I like the way this blogger explains the connection between the Bible and Lent: http://www.flowingfaith.com/2011/03/is-lent-biblical.html.
What Lent means to most people is "giving up" something. You hear people talk about what they're giving up, though rarely do you hear them explain why they're giving it up. Some fast from something -- sometimes a meal once a week or red meat. Often people give up sugary foods -- chocolate or soda -- and some are forfeiting Facebook.
It wasn't until a few years ago that I really understood why we should fast or give up something in discipline with our faith. Jesus did it and he talked about it as if it was something we would simply do. He expects it of us, not at Lent, but as a general practice. Why?
When we give something up, we replace it with something spiritual. The time it takes to prepare and eat a meal -- or surf Facebook -- can then be given to God. To listen. To hear his call. To pray and meditate. Fasting also allows us to live a life with less, giving us perspective on those who, not by choice, do so daily. In other words, most of the world's population. A great resource on how to fast and why is Richard Foster's "Spiritual Disciplines."
While I hadn't planned to give up anything for Lent, I realized that I sort of have. I turned in my resignation at my full-time job a couple weeks ago. I'm giving it up. Permanently.
There are a lot of reasons, really. But what it boils down to most is that I am not serving God, nor listening to God, in my current schedule. Something had to give. And so I prayed about what to do, and he made it clear that he wants to be first in my life (I knew this) and that I should be obedient to this -- immediately.
Like a child, I dug my heels in hard at this message. It seemed sudden. Dramatic. Unnecessary. I attempted to negotiate just like a child might. I fussed and complained. Still, he was unrelenting. He wants more of me, and serving him and my family from home is where he desires for me to be.
While I'm giving up my corporate position, I'm not going to stop working. Because I need some kind of income to sustain our budget. Not much. Certainly not what I was earning. There won't be many dinners out or trips to the movies after we make the transition. We'll have to save a little more, do a little less. We might even have to give up on the idea of visiting my sister in Germany, which really stinks. We've been here before, financially speaking, and it's OK. Really.
I don't know how it will work. But what I know is this. He demands that I be close to home, work from home, serve him better and put my family above my work. My faith is in him, and I know I don't have to worry. That's what he says, right there in his word. I'll trust him to work out the details. I know it will be just fine.
In the meantime, my forfeiting a full-time career will open up time, a lot of it since I don't know what I'll be doing when I begin working from home -- maybe some photography, some writing, Zumba with the senior ladies at my church. Who knows! But ahhh! to have time! Time that I can dig deeper in the scripture, pray and give myself more fully to God. And that is how I plan to celebrate Lent.
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