Let me start by saying...I am not Catholic...but I do like to participate in Lent. Many of you are asking WHY?? I started participating in Lent to jump start a diet. :-) I know I am not alone in this...(come on be honest). I thought it would be 40 days of restriction and after that my new eating habits would be ingrained. "They" say that a habit forms in 21 days...so I thought 40 days I got this covered...so it began by giving up Dr. Pepper. I went 40 whole days...I didn't take off Sundays...without DP and as sad as this is, it was HARD! I remember back on that first Lent and wonder did I do any soul searching or repentance? NO...It was more of a competition with friends than anything to have to do with God. Of course I didn't really think about the religious aspect of Lent...because like I said I was not Catholic. So each time Lent came along I thought what can I give up that will benefit me??? So each year I picked something that I wanted to remove from my life...fried food one year, gum, ice cream, pasta...get the picture? :-) Each year I did it...sometimes I messed up but it really wasn't that big of a deal because Lent really didn't mean that much to me.
This year I decided to do research on Lent. Narrowed WAY down - The season of Lent is meant for soul searching and repentance. It represents retreating into the wilderness with Jesus. It is a season for reflection and taking stock. Lent originated in the very earliest days of the church as a preparatory time for Easter, when the faithful rededicated themselves and when converts were instructed in faith and prepared for baptism. By observing the forty days of Lent, the individual Christian imitates Jesus' withdrawal into the wilderness for forty days.
I have to say I did not retreat into the wilderness with Jesus by not drinking Dr. Pepper...I just replaced it with other caffeine. This was a HUGE light bulb for me...As I have thought over my life I can't help but think of all the times I replaced something that would have lead me closer to Jesus with something that kept me just as far away as what I was originally trying to get rid of. It looked different, maybe even felt different...but was it really different if the result is the same.?
This year as I have been thinking of Lent and going into the wilderness with Jesus, I have been wondering what are those things that keep me from going into the wilderness with Him. Is it fear? Is it shame? Is it busyness? Is it avoidance? I have been asking God to help me see what it is... As you know, when you ask God something like this He is faithful and just to give it to you. :-) God has revealed to me that I don't go into the wilderness with Him because I simply don't make the time.
I am not scared of God...He loves me despite me. I don't fear what He will tell me. I don't fear that He will send me to a foreign nation to be a missionary. I don't fear He will tell me to give up all I have and love for Him. I am willing to go and be all that for Him. For me it is simply I put my own wants and needs ahead of Him. I wish it was some GREAT BIG fear I had or something that sounded better, but it is simply not.
I have my nice, little routines and they work for me. BUT...you know what I REALLY want to do is go into the wilderness with my Jesus. In order for me to do that I am going to have to bust my routines and sacrifice my comfort for The Comfort. So this Lent I am going to repent and sacrifice my comfort to spend more time with my Father. I want to go into the wilderness so He can sing over me. So my Father can speak tenderly to me. I want to go so I can get away from "it all" and hear Him, feel Him wrap His arms around me and just sit with Him with no distractions. I know that He continually woes us...He calls each of us by name to come to Him...but I wonder why we (you) don't?
This year I encourage you to sacrifice and repent with Him during this time of Lent. Go into the wilderness with Him and see what He whispers in your ear!
Captured by Grace...
Donna,
ReplyDeleteI too am not catholic and have practiced Lent every year. Is it hard, yes...but also I have seen God do amazing things during this time for me. Usually God gives me just the thing I need to fast from, which is a blessing that I don't have to think too hard on it...LOL.
I can't wait to hear what God speaks to you during yor wilderness time. Looking forward to hearing all about it.
Love ya!
Tammy
I have not ever "practiced" Lent, but last fall I did go into the wilderness to listen for God for three days. I mean I literally went into the wilderness. Well, not really "wilderness", I suppose. I am not sure where the "wilderness" really is anymore. But I did go to a place where I basically did not see or speak to anyone for almost three days. I had no phone, book, music, TV, radio, or anything that I normally fill and distract my mind with. I simply made the time and went to a desolate place and sat and listened for God. I went with full and complete expectations of a total "burning bush" type experience. While I didn't see a burning bush and I didn't receive instructions engraved in tablets, I did "hear" from God. It wasn't loud or even terribly profound by anyone's standards other than mine-- but it was distinct and profound to me, and it will go down as one of the best things I have ever done. Even though I long for that next special time alone and listening, I want to get to a daily place where I can hear that all the time without escaping to the wilderness. I want to feel and to know God in that deep and profound way. Unfortunately, I am not sure I have managed all the “noise” in my life to the point I can regularly and continually hear that quiet whisper or that distinct singing on a continual basis. Thanks for reminding me how important listening really is!
ReplyDeleteJoe D.