I’ve been thinking lately about what to give up for Lent. One of my favorite foods or should I say treats is french vanilla ice cream…..or maybe old fashioned home-made chicken soup with lots of dill and challah (egg bread with poppy seeds). Okay some tastes are harder to give up then others. What about you? What have you thought of giving up? Soda? Chips? Chocolate? Smoking (hmm)?
Still, upon further reflection, maybe these 40 days of Lent
really is a good time to do some spring cleaning or de-cluttering in our
bodies, our thoughts, maybe our homes….and our spirits. What to keep? What to file away? What to give away?
I'm wondering though, maybe this question of what to give up
is more like putting the cart before the horse (makes it hard to get very
far).
When Jesus went into the desert for 40 days, I don’t think
he asked, “What do I need to give up? Chicken
soup and homemade bread (very old time favorites)?” I think it was more like, “God, I want to
spend this time alone with you, no distractions, no temptations. Take away my fears. Let me just rest in you and do your will.” This seems more true to me. From Jesus' conversation, from his prayers
desiring to draw closer to God, Jesus knew without a doubt what he had to give up.
Psalm 139 speaks about God forming us in our mother’s
womb. When you think about this, could it be that at least one time (and maybe more) God has seen you and me naked (oops!)? If this is true, then what is it we
really need to give up? What stops us
from looking into the closets of our minds, our hearts, our spirits? Fear, feeling overwhelmed, guilt, shame? Well fear not dear heart, there is nothing
God hasn’t already seen.
So maybe this year, I’ll give up the french vanilla ice
cream and keep the chicken soup with dill (yeah!). And while I’m at it, during this Lenten 40-day journey I’ll ask God to help me pull
out that dusty box of procrastination (letters to write) from my closet. Confession!
Whatever I do, I know God will be present, and it just feels
good growing closer to the One who knows and loves me no matter what. What about you?
Shalom as you journey through Lent and beyond,
Susan M
That's it exactly - Lent is about growing closer to God. I think this year I will give up worry. The teeth grinding, forehead wrinkling, gray hair inducing kind of worry. Every morning I will consciously give over those worries to God. I don't know if I'll be able to stay worry-free or not. Maybe it'll last 10 minutes, maybe all day. But I'll try. And while I'm at it maybe I'll actually take a day of vacation and get rid of some of the physical clutter too. There was a time when I couldn't even imagine giving up a day of vacation for something like that - vacation days were for having fun! Now it seems like a somewhat rational thing to do (once in a while). Is that wisdom creeping in, or defeat? I don't know. But giving God the worry and someone else the "stuff" sounds like a pretty good Lenten Journey to me. Thanks for the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteKathleen, blessings to you as you spend time with God this Lenten season. (Even if it really does just last 10 minutes!) :)
DeleteSusan, thanks for sharing. I have struggled with "giving up" things for Lent, but I love the discipline of "adding in" things - like decluttering, devotional time or strengthening relationships.