Lent is my favorite season of the church year, but I didn’t start observing Lent until I went to college. At that point in my life, Lent was very much an idol. It was like a new year’s resolution I could stick to because God. was. watching. First, I gave up sweets; the next year, I gave up all processed sugar. This continued through my college years, and played into a larger and very real struggle with orthorexia, which I could disguise as ‘spirituality’ during Lent. During my healing process, I finally started to view Lent differently. Yes, Lent is a time of giving up: giving up of the flesh, of earthly things to draw closer to Christ and the new life we have in Him. It is not, however, a time of giving up for the flesh.
Our intentions may be good, but sometimes they come from the wrong place. My intention in those first years was to learn more about Lent and challenge myself into an observance of the season, but with that intention came the baggage of my fleshly ‘health and fitness’ obsession. Now, 4 years into recovery, my intentions come from a place of spiritual ‘health and fitness’. For me, this looks more like adding-in than giving-up. It’s a simple change of mindset that can make a huge difference in how we approach this Lenten season, asking God what He wants us to walk into with Him, rather than what He wants us to walk out of. This Lenten season, I am committing to giving Him more of me and invite you to do the same.
- Presence: Utilizing the Screen Time feature on your phone
- I’ve been using this feature for a few weeks now, and I love it! However, the iPhone lets you cheat if you want to. You can choose to ‘Ignore Limit’ for 15 minutes at a time, and lately I’ve been ignoring those self-imposed limits more than I would like. During Lent, I’m increasing my ‘Downtime’.
- I’m also challenging myself to not. pick. up. my. phone. It’s one of the first things I do most mornings, even if it’s just to check the time and weather. And then I continue to check it every 10 minutes or so. What a nightmare! So, my new game plan is to put my phone in my purse as part of my nighttime routine. That way it’s out of sight and mind the following morning, allowing me to be more present in my devotional time and with my family.
- Prayer/Meditation: Waking up just a litttttle bit earlier
- As a new mama, this is something I’ve struggled with. I have an alarm set for 5:30am and, unless the little miss has a really rough night, I am usually out of bed by then. Sometimes, it’s 4:30-5am and in those instances I’m always amazed at how much focused time I’m able to spend in quiet prayer and the Word. My goal in this season is to try setting the alarm a little bit earlier each night so that I can allow myself to soak in Him without rushing or worrying about the day ahead.
- I’ve also struggled to find a devotional that I like since MacKenzie was born, so I am excited to start a guided Lenten study from She Reads Truth. I always get excited about these! I love She Reads Truth, both the print and online versions. Some of my favorite female-oriented devotional communities are: Blessed is She, Well Watered Women, and Holy Beautiful.
- Fasting: Whole40/Paleo diet (Disclaimer: I did not do my first Whole30 until I was recovered from my disordered eating habits. Please do not follow a ‘diet’ or fast during Lent if you have or are healing from unhealthy food restriction.)
- I did my first Whole30 2 years ago, and it was seriously the best my body has ever felt. I started having some gluten and dairy sensitivities about 4 years ago, and I took on the Whole30 to seek confirmation. Those sensitivities totally disappeared once I became pregnant last winter. Let the lactose and doughy goodness flow! But when MacKenzie was about 4 months old, I started recognizing old symptoms. I’m pretty sure my husband is sick of hearing me say, “I think I really need to cut out dairy and gluten again to see…” and then going to grab another slice of pizza. During Lent, I will be following a mostly paleo diet using most of the Whole30 guidelines. I say mostly because I am breastfeeding and it is very important to me that I eat often and enough to maintain a good supply. In focusing on a paleo diet, I am hoping that meals & snacks will become a little simpler and my mind will be less occupied with what we’re going to eat. This will also be a good way for me to be more mindful and intentional about the foods that I eat, keeping me from mindless, emotional eating and turning me more deeply into prayer when those moments try to creep in.
Questions for you:
- What are some of your favorite Lenten practices?
- Have you ever had misguided Lenten practices? Do you remember how you felt afterwards?
- What is God calling you into in this season?
Que Sera, Sarah 