Re-LENT-less

Today is February 15.

Today is Day 3 of Lent. 

Today I will not eat meat. 

Today I will not put bacon on my breakfast sandwich.

Today marks the longest I've ever gone without eating meat.

Today is a good day to reflect on why I am participating in Lent.

It wasn't until my first year of university that I started getting asked what I was giving up for Lent. People around me were shocked when they heard I was a Christian who was not giving something up for Lent. I felt compelled to jumped on the band wagon, but this year it's about so much more. 

In my first year of university I gave up the use of certain words, you know, such as using "hate" for simple things, "love" for silly things, and any and all form of swear words. It was a pretty easy thing to do. I don't think I really knew what Lent was about. 

In my second year I gave up not reading the bible everyday. I can't remember if I actually read from God's Word everyday or not, but again, I'm not sure if I really knew why I was doing what I was doing. A great friend of mine gave up meat for Lent this year, and I chuckled thinking, "I love God, but I'd never do that, that's absurd."

In my third year of university I gave up a simple sin that was holding me back from God. I know that I held true to my commitment for the whole 40 days, and for every day after that. I started to understand that it was less about an answer to people's questions, and more about finding a practical way to focus on God in the days leading up to Easter. It wasn't about announcing to the world what I'm giving up for Lent. 

THIS YEAR is the year. I get it! I know what's going on! For the three months leading up to February I prayed about the season of Lent. Participating in the season of Lent is so much more than just giving up a habit, it is seriously preparing our hearts for Easter through prayer, time in God's Word, and worship. I thought for a long time about what I should be doing to prepare my heart for Easter. I decided that I could benefit from giving up a habit, and well, ladies and gentleman, it was pretty clear to me that meat was what I should give up. Meat is in almost everything that I eat, it is my favourite food group, and it is part of my everyday life. By giving up meat I am consciously inviting God into a key part of my life: my diet. I think of God when I make my grocery list, when I'm offered food, when I'm at a restaurant, when I'm cooking, when I'm flipping through the flyer, and when I'm eating. That's a lot of time! I'm going to go right until Easter without eating meat, and that way when I do celebrate easter dinner I'll be so much more thankful for the meals with meat that God provides. I'm learning that my main energy source does in fact come from above, and that if God can become part of my every dietary decision, it may help me to be one step closer to talking with him about EVERY decision. 

Lent is one of the earliest Christian "holiday" traditions. It's almost 1800 years old! Lent was officially declared to start on Ash Wednesday by Gregory the Great, the guy Gregorian Chant was named after! This whole thing may not seem like it's a "baptist" thing to do, but hey, it's not about denomination it's about dedication.