Not this kind. This is lint.
I really love Lent. Many people would probably say that Advent (the time leading up to Christmas) is their favorite season in the church, because of the inherent joy. I love Advent, too, but Lent is my favorite because it's a time of contemplation. I don't think we allow ourselves enough time for contemplation in the church as a whole.
Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are probably my two favorite services of the whole year, as weird as that sounds. I love the raw reality and the contemplative aspect. I love the symbolism of stripping the sanctuary, and I love to see it decorated again on Easter morning. I love the ashes on our foreheads that remind us of how small and broken we truly are, and how big the grace of the cross is.
These forty days are a time of preparation for Easter (traditionally a time of preparation for baptism into the Christian faith), and they also bring to mind the forty days that Christ spent in the wilderness preparing for his ministry and work on earth. Because of this, many believers in different traditions choose to "fast" from something during Lent--it could be food-related, technology-related, money-related. Others choose to add a new task, something they wouldn't normally do--spend time in solitude and meditation, spend time in service to others.
My Lenten practice this year encompasses both of those aspects. Because my husband often has work at 7 am or class at 8 am, and I work a lot of afternoons at the moment, I end up wasting a lot of time in the morning perusing the internet. Or watching Downton Abbey on Netflix.
Yes, somehow I got hooked, too.
I love getting up and getting things accomplished in the morning. Morning time is my best time of day, energy-wise and brain-wise. So I realized that I was wasting a lot of it, and that I really wasn't using my "best" things for God. Thus, during Lent this year, I am devoting my morning "alone" time (lately spent in frivolous occupation) to reading and reflection on Scripture, then either journaling or blogging about it.
I'll talk about other things on here besides my readings, but I may talk about them sometimes, and I hope that this will help me be more accountable to this blog.
What are you doing for Lent?
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