The first time I ever came into contact with "Lent" was a few years back when I was at a restaurant on a Wednesday night. There was a group of adults eating dinner nearby and they all had a large smudge of something on their forehead. Weird. What kinda cult did these people belong to? Luckily, at my table was a friend who had been raised Catholic. He proceeded to explained that they weren't in a cult and also gave a little history about Fat Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, and Lent. (Click here to learn about Lent).
Fast-forward to last night, when I was driving with one of my neighbors, who was at one point in her life, a devout Catholic. She started telling me about a tradition of making a "king cake" on Fat Tuesday and that you're suppose to hide a plastic baby Jesus in. She had me at "cake" but lost me at "putting a plastic doll inside so that the chemical toxins can seep into the deliciousness." Anyway, she continued to tell me how, even though she isn't a Mary follower anymore, but a Christ follower, she still likes to practice some of the rituals of lent.
My basic understanding of Lent is that you fast from something for 40 days.
That got me thinking. In this Western life that I live, how many times do I deny myself things/comforts? How many times do I decide to get rid of something that is a luxury or helps my days go by smoothly? Digging a little deeper, how many times on a daily basis, do I let the things of this world distract me or hinder me from growing my relationship with Christ? So I started to think about something that I need to give up. I didn't come up with anything right away. This morning, as I got into my car, I reached towards my radio to turn it on and immediately thought "I should fast from using my radio/cd player music in my car during lent."
I have a 15 minute commute to work each day. For those who struggle with math, that's a 30 minutes round trip. 30 minutes that I'm going to try and spend in sweet communication with my Savior. Unfortunately, I'd be lying, if I said that there isn't a day that goes by were I don't have unadulterated, uninterrupted time with my God. I'm embarrassed to say that I sometimes get caught up in the daily tasks at hand and really don't spend quality time praying.
Please know, I'm not saying all of this so that you'll think I'm a holy person or that I'm better then those who listen to the radio on the way to/from work. That isn't my heart. I'm looking to deepen my prayer relationship with God and this is the conduit I'm using.
For any one who knows me well, knows that I LOVE LOVE LOVE music. I'm "that girl, stopped at a red light, singing at the top of her lungs". So this isn't going to be an easy sacrifice for me. But now, I'm going to be "that girl, stopped at a red light, who looks like she's talking to herself".
If you think of it, pray with me. That God will use these "conversations in the car" to teach me, to mold me, to break me, to strengthen me. And if you have anything you need prayer for. Just let me know. Also, take a moment and ask yourself if there are things you could be/should be removing from your life to help you focus on God.
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