Is it just me, or does Lent always seem to sneak up on us? Which would explain why this post is not coming out right as Lent begins...haha.
In all seriousness, Lent has meant more to me this year than it has any other year. A lot of people are confused with what exactly Lent is, what it means, how we celebrate it, and I want to try to clear that up for you a bit - but please remember I'm not an expert! I'm learning in my faith just like you are, and honestly, I believe that these 40 days can mean something a little bit different for everyone.
By definition, Lent is the six week (40 days, not including Sundays) period leading up to Easter. Many people give up (like no Instagram for the whole 40 days), or attend special church services. But the key here is that it is leading up to Easter.
I'm no theologian or expert, but for me, these 40 days are meant to slow down and refocus on the Lord in preparation to celebrate Jesus' death and resurrection. It's an intentional period of time where I have the opportunity to really reflect on what Jesus did on the cross and what that means to me.
This year, to me, these 40 days mean that and more. This feels like a reset, an opportunity that God has given me to really dig deep and heal. It's almost relighting my fire for Him, and it's really cool to see how so many people - including myself - are working on being purposeful in our faith and surrendering to Jesus.
On the first day of Lent, I prayed over the coming days and opened my heart to whatever God wanted me to hear as I began the 40 days. What He whispered to my heart honestly changed my entire perspective. He said:
"Your sacrifices remind you of Mine."
And that hit hard, y'all, because like everything with Jesus, it's not about following a set of rules. It's about drawing near to our Father, our Creator, and gaining a greater relational understanding about what He did on the cross for us. Lent isn't about giving up something to say we did it, to pat ourselves on the back and be proud of ourselves - it's about knowing Jesus in a new way and experiencing a teeny, tiny taste of what His sacrifice felt like. It's a challenge for us to push into Him in moments of struggle and weakness, and to worship Him as we reflect on how absurdly incredible His extravagant gesture of love was.
In the words of my youth leader, Michaela, "it's about giving up something we love for someone we love more". And wow, how true is that? Just as Jesus made a ginormous sacrifice to show us how much He loves us, Lent is an opportunity for us to make some smaller sacrifices as an expression of our love for God.
So what? What am I supposed to give up? We're already a few days into it, am I too late? It's never too late to begin, sweet friend!
Honestly, the decision to "give up" something should be completely personal to you. Like Mich said, it should be something we love, something that would be difficult for us to give up, because if it's easy, then what's the point? Some people delete social media, stop drinking soda or eating a certain food(s), cut out unnecessary spending, things like that. It's all about sacrificing something for more time with Jesus or as an expression of gratitude and love for Him.
I, however, love to be unique, and so while I am setting new screen time limits that have already proven to be testing me, I'm also doing 40 days of love. That means that for every day of Lent, I have 2-3 "challenges" of ways for me to love on and serve my people. This may look like writing notes, checking in on friends I haven't seen in a while, being intentional about quality time with my siblings, doing the dishes when it's not my job, etc. It's about going out of my way to love on the people God's put in my life, just as He goes out of His way to love on me.
At the core of all the Lent celebrations and sacrifices, though, it's all about Jesus. It's about what He did on the cross for us and the incredible lengths He went to show us how much He loves us. It's less about what we do and more about the heart of why we're doing it.
You guys, I am so excited for Lent and all that God has planned to do in our hearts over the next 40 days! As I continue to reflect over what Lent means and how I can draw closer to the Lord more and more during this time, I cannot help but be overwhelmed with gratitude for Jesus. It's insane that sometimes the smallest sacrifices can be so hard for me, when He gave up His entire life to love you and I. It's quite humbling, to be completely honest with you.
What does Lent mean to you? Are you giving anything up for the next 40 days? I'd love to hear down in the comments below!
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