Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent. Lent is the 40 day period before Easter in Western Christianity. It is a solemn season in the church, a time to reflect and have our hearts softened by God in preparation for the celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus. When I was growing up in the Roman Catholic Church the focus in Lent was sacrifice. We were encouraged to "give something up" for Lent. I remember giving up chewing gum in seventh grade, cursing in high school etc. The point was to sacrifice something to God in the hopes that it would bring you closer to Him. I don't know if it ever did that but I like the concept.

About 10 years ago I was working someplace where my commute was approximately 30 minutes each way. I enjoyed listening to my stereo on the drive there and back. That year for Lent I gave up listening to music in the car. Though I had left the RCC the idea of giving something up for Lent never left me. I was determined to use that 60 minutes a day to pray in an attempt to renew my relationship to God. I did pray...everyday I made that commute and I did notice a change in my relationship to God. It seemed to deepen and strengthen and I liked that.

Well Easter came and went the radio went back on in the car. I actually never even considered keeping my Lenten discipline up after Easter. But then one day about a week after Easter I went put to my car to discover that the stereo had been stolen! Replacing it was not a financial priority at the time so I went without. I didn't start praying right away again and I don't think God "took" my radio...but eventually when I did start praying on my commute again I was able to embrace the missing radio as a pathway to God.

Tonight we will go to church for the Ash Wednesday Service where we will have ashes (made from the palms from last year's Palm Sunday Service) placed on our foreheads in the shape of a cross. This is a symbol of repentance before God and it is an outward expression of our faith. There aren't many of those anymore...for me at least...so it is a good reminder.

As I have grown as a Christian I have determined that giving something up for Lent isn't enough. A while back I decided that I also wanted to add something during Lent. This year we are going to read from a Lenten family devotional each night at dinner. I hope this will be a rich experience for our entire family. I haven't fully determined what I am giving up..but I can tell you it won't be Grey's Anatomy or blogging!!!