Lent

The Lenten season is kind of a new thing for me. It’s funny for me to type that because I grew up in a Christian home and we always focused on the true meaning of Easter. But when I think of Lent during my childhood, I think of the Catholic religion. Only Catholics got ashes on their heads on Ash Wednesday and gave something up for 40 days. My Catholic family couldn’t eat meat on Fridays. Good Friday came and led to Resurrection Sunday and then we celebrated. 

Unfortunately, I wasn’t too affected by the Lenten season. 

It was only when I came to Truett and started exploring my faith a lot more that I really came to value and appreciate the Lenten season for what it is. I’ve spent time in prayer and reflection to figure out what I need to remove from my life or add to it in order to become more like Christ.  By observing the Lenten season for what it is, it makes the Gospel more meaningful to me. It’s a time of reflection and spiritual formation that draws me closer to Christ. It’s a holy and sacred time.

 In my last post, I talked about sacredness. It seems like this theme just isn’t going away anytime soon! All week, so many conversations have ended up talking about the sacredness of life. The Lord has also been making it really evident to me that this is something I need to be focusing on.

In multiple classes of mine, we started talking about the separation that we place between sacred moments and secular moments. 

*side note* I love when the same conversations happen in different classes with different professors and different students. It’s a nice reminder that the Lord is in control of everything, including conversations.

 Anyway, we, as Christians, are called to bridge the gap between secular and sacred moments. There shouldn't be a distinction. Every moment, interaction, and encounter that we have can be a sacred moment if we choose to recognize it. This is difficult for me in a number of ways but I also have gotten really bad at not living in the moment. My days, weeks, and months are SO planned out. I'm constantly looking at the next assignment, the next meeting, the next social event. I'm constantly looking ahead and end up missing the right now.

During this Lenten season (and even after), I’m trying my best to be intentional about recognizing these moments. Instead of just thinking of it as giving a client a ride somewhere, I can think of it as a holy moment to pour into that client and let them know they are loved. Instead of just having to do homework for class, I can think of it as an opportunity to learn more about the Lord and learn how to be a better minister. When we try to find the sacredness in every moment, it completely changes our mindset and how we view the world as a whole. This concept is so exciting to me. Every moment is sacred if we choose to find the sacred in the moment. I’m excited to see how the Lord will stretch me and help me grow in Him.

I’m interested to know how you’re observing the Lenten season. Everyone approaches this season differently and I genuinely want to hear about the work that the Lord is doing within you during this season and beyond.