Happy Lent!

Yep, that's right - I said Happy Lent!  I know that this probably rubbed some of you wrong.  But let me explain.

A week ago was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.  All day as I was thinking of this, the thought of being happy with Lent and the joy of it kept coming to mind.  For some, Lent is an unknown to them.  For others, it is a time to sacrifice, to give up, to mourn, to journey in solitude and darkness.  I've always struggled with this idea.

I don't have a problem with people who give up something "for Lent" if they replace it with time spent with God.  That is the purpose of it, not to say, "Look at me.  I'm not going to do _______ during Lent.  That makes me special."  But rather it can be used to give us time to focus on God and to symbolize all that Christ did for us.

During Lent we should repent - or stop screwing up.  But shouldn't we always be looking at this?  It is a time of renewal, of growth, of humbling ourselves.  Not just for the 40 days of Lent - but to refocus and get back on track to continue that journey ongoing.  We should be thankful for all that Christ has done for us and remind ourselves to ground ourselves in God.  Yes we should always be doing this but sometimes we need a reminder that is right in front of us to get us doing it.

I recently saw the garbage bag suggestion.  Take a garbage bag and each day during Lent and take something from your house that you can get rid of.  The idea is to "lighten our load", to get rid of the clutter.  Great idea.  Lent gives us the time to focus on doing these kind of things.  To prune, to trim.  When we do this, the growth is outstanding!  Joyful!

He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.
                                                                                            John 15:2 (NLT)

Another thing that we can do is to fast, not for an attitude of "see what I can do", but for a reminder to focus that we need to depend on God for all our provisions.  Also many receive ashes on their forehead on Ash Wednesday.  It too is not to show that Lent is dirty or dark or grim but that it is our beginning of the journey during Lent, to remind us that we come from the dust and will return to the dust and a reminder of the cost of discipleship.  Now that may seem grim but as Christians we have the hope and knowledge of what awaits us.  The joy that we will experience in Heaven.  We also have God's promise that we will not be left alone to face this imperfect world on our own.  

For God has said,

“I will never fail you.
    I will never abandon you.”   Hebrews 13:5 (NLT)

How can that not be viewed as joy!  God's promises of not abandoning us, His promise of eternal life, His promises of providing all that we need!  That is joy!  We have history to look back on and see all that God has done, again that is joy!

We are joyful that God loves us so much that He sacrificed His only Son so that we may have eternal life.  We are joyful that He loves us so much He cares about our every need.  He knows each one of us by name, we are His!  Lent is an ancient word for springtime.  Spring is all about new growth, renewal, refreshing.  Happy Lent!!!