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A mid-Lent Pep Talk <3

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Ash Wednesday was 19 days ago.

If you gave up something for Lent, especially if it was something you really love, you are most likely feeling the pinch.

And you may not be feeling super spiritual about the whole thing.

Which is probably a good thing, because to me…that’s the point.

I gave up coffee a few months ago for a different conviction, so didn’t go that route for Lent. But I very much remember the DAILY absence of something that is just so much a part of my routine.

Giving it up didn’t mean I was missing caffeine…I didn’t give up caffeine, just coffee. I could drink tea or have a soda.

It was the habit. It was the flavor. It was the smell of it grinding and brewing and steaming from my mug first thing in the morning.

So much of my social interaction happens over a cup of coffee. So meeting with friends was another poignant reminder that I love God more than coffee….and sure, I would love a cup of hot tea. Not.

With everything else going on in the world and as much as I want to draw nearer to the Lord and tell Him I love Him more than ANY THING, I still had to fight against this terrible missing of something as trivial as coffee. And that was humbling to say the least.

Because it makes me very aware of how very human I am. And how easily my comfort and my desires can trump everything else. And THAT helps me understand more than ever why I so desperately need a Savior.

What I gave up for Lent this year interrupts my routine in a different way. I have to work hard to focus my thoughts back to meditating on Scripture in its absence. I have to struggle with how very difficult it is for me to give up some tiny creature comfort for this short season.

So if you have given something up for Lent, and you are finding yourself a little grumpy about it, I think that is ok.

I think that is the point.

Because the whole goal is really to focus more on what led Jesus to the Cross and if you have removed something from your normal routine that has gotten your attention, then mission accomplished!

God bless you as you find ways to deny yourself and seek to draw closer to Him <3

 

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