I like Lent. I actually look forward to it each year. My kids like to observe Lent, as well. I don’t make them. It just seems to come up in conversation each year and they all want to dive right in. I am often surprised and sometimes amused at what they want to “give up.”
A few years ago, I asked my then seven-year-old son, Joshua, what he was going to give up for Lent:
First response: homework. I told him he couldn’t do that.
Second response: school. I told him he couldn’t do that, either.
Third response: his brother, Troy.
I walked away. The lesson of sacrifice had to wait for another day.
Lent starts every year on Ash Wednesday and ends on the day before Easter Sunday. This year Ash Wednesday is March 5, 2014, and Holy Saturday falls on April 20, 2014.
Lent is the season of remembrance of the sacrifice of Jesus. Many Christians respond by giving up something they really enjoy, so that this small sacrifice will make them more mindful of the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus. I thought that this year I would not just give something up, but I would also take something up. I will be posting a short devotional each day of Lent to encourage myself, and any one who wants to join me to give greater attention to the meaning of Easter.
Lent is frequently spoken of as a forty-day period. So, ready or not, I will be posting each day for the next 6 weeks, Monday through Saturday. Sundays aren’t counted in the Lenten calendar.
So, who’s with me?
