Trouble with Lent
So yesterday was Ash Wednesday. This starts a very important season at church. I would say more important than Advent (aka: the Christmas season). Lent is the time leading up to Easter. Being that Easter is basically the core of Christianity really… I mean, if you’re sharing the story of Easter you’re sharing the story of Christianity. So what’s so important about the time preceding Easter?
Traditionally Easter was the time that new followers prepared for Baptism and old hands reexamined things. Baptisms now take place as needed, whenever. But we still should take time to reflect, study, and grow as followers. And if you’re not baptized, now is an excellent time to look into changing that.
So one way to examine ourselves and our devotion as well as gain a better understanding of Easter is to give up something for 40 days. In the past I have given up procrastination, forgetting to read my bible, and a variety of simpler things like chocolate (which, if you don’t know me, is weak because I don’t actually like chocolate). This year is tough. I’ve scaled so much of my life back because of the foot injury, low income, and personal devotion to God. It took forever to come up with something significant to give up. There is little ‘fluff’ in my life at that moment. I want to give up something that will remind me daily to keep God in the forefront of my mind.
Several things have crossed my mind: my motorcycle, not living in a disorganized space (my bedroom is a mess, as is my paperwork for 2007), online chatting, booze, and much more. But nothing seemed to fit my goal: to keep God at the forefront of my mind. So what can I do?
I’ve given up recreational web surfing. It’s the only thing I can think of that I do daily that I simply don’t need to do. It’s rough, but it’s like giving up TV for most people. Wish me luck!
BTW: This does exclude me from all my ‘daily’ sites [ blogs, livejournal, web comics, etc], but is does not stop me from work related web use (duh!), I might even still update this blog, maybe.