Lent. A new perspective for me.

Lent. What is it and why are people always "giving something up" for it?

My husband has taught me well that fasting is a matter of the heart. And when we claim to eagerly give up chocolate or sweet drinks or meat as our great sacrifice for lent I step back and immediately question the motivation behind such proclamations. I believe the Lord does care that we are healthy for His work, but I doubt he cares much at all about you looking good or losing that last five pounds. So, are you doing it for Him or for yourself?

Why are we reluctant to "give up" the significant things? Deceitfulness. Selfishness. Bitterness. Perpetual dejection. Because it actually does require something of us? Because it makes us feel? Makes us uncomfortable? It gives us the chance to grow (if we let it).

Instead of "giving something up" for lent I'm considering "putting something on"and I'd love to hear your comments and suggestions about such ideas.

I'm horrible at making eye contact (deep-seated insecurities buried in the dark places of my heart) so I was considering "putting on" self confidence with the motivation of fostering more genuine relationships. I don't know when I initially realized this about myself. It's been years. And no matter how I've tried in the past, I struggled to maintain eye contact during conversations. I'm quick to look away, look down, fiddle with something just so I don't have to look up.

There's just something about eye contact that I find immensely intimidating. There's a lot of hurt and pain behind those eyes that I want to keep hidden, fueling my fear of judgment, acceptance, and self-preservation. It's been a hard lesson to learn that my attempt at self-preservation leads to consistent disconnection with those who love me, friends who want to get to know me better, friends I want to get to know better, and so on.

So I'm going to do something about it. With the Lord's help. For the glory of God. That my desire to abandon my fear and embrace who He wants me to be may be fleshed out with intentional action.

I encourage you, too, to brave the upcoming season of Lent and make an impact on who you are in Christ. Be free. Glorify God.

And back to the what and why of Lent, I graciously defer to those smarter than me.

Find good suggestions for lent here. And guess what, there's an app for that!