I wrote this 2 weeks ago, but took me till now to post this.
What is Lent??? It’s not the stuff between our toes when we wear dress socks or the fuzz we pick out of our belly button. According to the dictionary Lent is… an annual season of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter, beginning on Ash Wednesday and lasting 40 weekdays to Easter.
Lent is mostly observed by Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian Anglicans and also by Roman Catholics.
To some people Lent is a second chance at their failed new year’s resolution. To others, it’s the perfect time to start a new diet because typically people remember Lent as a time you give up something like chocolate, sweets or caffeine. And while giving those things up isn’t a bad thing, giving something up just for the sake of giving it up defeats the purpose of Lent. To quote my brilliant wife- “If what you give up doesn't mean anything to you, it won't mean anything to God.
To me the purpose is to set aside time for reflection on Jesus - His suffering, His sacrifice, His life, death, burial and resurrection. To me, Lent is a personal Spiritual Retreat with God for 40 days, and I hope that those 40 days are a building block to strengthening my relationship with God.
Before Lent began this year I knew I wanted to challenge myself to strengthen my relationship with God. So I prayed and I felt God ask me “What are the things that keep you away from me?” After a quick think I decided to give up Social Media (Facebook & Twitter) Ouch! So I made a commitment to drop off the Social media landscape for 6 weeks.
So I said OK God, I’ll give it up for you, that’s fine, and thought I’d get a pat on the back and His approval for my willing sacrifice (it may not be my 1st born, but it was still a big sacrifice).
Does this happen to anyone else when you’re trying to wrap up your devotional or prayer time with God? You get that feeling like He says “Hey, where do you think you’re going, we’re not done yet.” Well that is exactly what happened to me. I was confident I’d be able to make the social media sacrifice for 6 weeks and I would make strides in my spiritual walk. However, as I’m walking out on the conversation I felt like God grabbed me and said- “I said what THINGS (plural) are keeping you from me?” God, I just said I’d give up social media, Facbook and twitter- two things, what else do you want, that’s hours a week, but right away I knew what He was getting at.
To me social media is a hobby, but there are three things I’m most passionate about- God, my family and sports. I knew God didn’t want me avoiding Him for six weeks, and although Steph and the kids would love a six week cruise around the world without me, I’m pretty sure I knew where this was going.
So I tried to pull a Jacob from the Bible and started wrestling with God. Here was a part of the dialogue. What do you mean by giving up sports, which one? ALL OF THEM, WHAT??? I can still watch the highlights though right? None? Ok, by sports we mean just things the Olympics consider sports right, because there are 6 big UFC fights coming up over Lent, not to mention the NHL trade deadline, and the Oilers are sucking, but I still enjoy watching and after Easter there are no more Oilers games until October. Okay, well if I give up sports I don’t have to still give up social media then right??? BOTH, c’mon really? :-(
I could tell by how sensitive I was to the suggestion that He was probably on to something that had become too much of an idol and distraction in my life (funny how God knows these things). So after losing my wrestling match miserably the goal was all the time I would’ve spent on these things I would devote to focusing on God and my family.
My goals were lofty. I heard about a church that started a program called “new thru 30.” The goal is to follow the reading plan and read the entire New Testament in 30 days. Confession #1 I love learning, I don’t love reading. I knew 30 days may be pushing it for me, but if I gave myself the extra time lent offers it may be possible. Confession #2- I’m way behind. I’ve got about 2 weeks left as I write this, and I’m only about 30% of the way there; however (here’s my excuse) I am reading 2 different books, and have read 40 Chapters in Genesis in 2 weeks. Challenge #1 Before my next birthday I’ll complete new thru 30 in 30 days! If you’re interested in the challenge let me know.
Confession #3- I put fine print in the sacrifices I made. I agreed to give up sports, but shortly after I pulled some fine print out on God and Stephanie. I gave up sports, but somehow justified to myself that it was OK to read the sports section of “The Journal” because I only see it Sundays when I’m at my parents’ house. I justified getting sports scores sent to me on my phone, and I can read articles about MMA (mixed martial arts) because its news. Granted this doesn’t take up much of my time, but I think we all do this too much. Things get hard so we look for loop holes to keep our comfort zones around us. What are some of the fine print and loopholes you pull on God or your family?
The other part of my Lenten promise was to be more focused at home. The plan was to use the time I usually spent watching Oilers or sports highlights to devote to focusing on being a better dad and husband (not that I’m bad at either of those, but we can always be better- Amen!). Confession #4 I’ve failed at times, but I keep trying. When I say I’ve failed I haven’t sat down and watched any Oilers games (although last night I was VERY tempted); however, I just filled some of that extra time I have with things that don’t necessarily build into my family or time with God. I may have given up hours of sports and Facebooking, but I started playing video games and watching more movies. However, when I catch myself slipping, I’ll read, pray or try and stop doing what I’m doing and focus on those around me.
What I’m learning through all of this is whether you give something up or take something on for Lent, I believe it’s more about the journey and the process in us. The details and the stipulations aren't really as important as the heart behind it and the way you use your extra time to seek God. The true reward is becoming closer with our Maker.
Wrestling with God at the start of lent was a cool experience. Some people might say how dare you try and persuade God to your own selfish desires. But wrestling with God isn’t a bad thing; wrestling with God is a sign of intimacy because you can only wrestle with someone you’re close to. In Genesis 32, Jacob wrestled with God all night and the Lord blessed him for it.
When Lent is over I can watch sports and be on Facebook if I feel like it, but in the short time I’ve given it up I’ve seen God do a big tune up on me. I will still be passionate about the Oilers and some of my sports, but through this process I hope it will help me to prioritize things better in my life, and I pray that I will continue to keep the main things the main things in my life. So I guess that’s my biggest challenge to myself. That’s been my journey this past month; I hope it makes sense, and that God used this to speak to you and maybe even challenge you a little.
Be Blessed
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