Ok, I’m stealing this idea from one of my friends who is parenting two particularly challenging girls. She points out that most of us look upon Lent as a time for giving up some physical pleasure…dessert, a daily meal, smoking. But that the real purpose of observing Lent is for soul-searching, repentance and reflection.

Today is Ash Wednesday – the official beginning of the 40-day observance. There are tons of Christian churches and denominations who don’t observe Lent with the rigor of other denominations. But observing Lent is an awesome way to prepare for Easter, the highest of all Christian holy days.

My friend made the most fascinating suggestion. She said that parenting challenging children often feels like depriving yourself of so much. Many of us have given up finances, vacations, careers, friends, and all outside interests to focus on helping our children. So to think about “giving up” one more thing to observe Lent can make you feel very deprived. And remember, it’s not about deprivation as much as it is putting yourself in the right frame for soul-searching and reflection.

So, she suggested that we take ourselves on as an active ministry. That we dedicate the next 40 days to doing something each day that ministers to our own soul. Hmmm…was God sending ME a message?

I received this email on Monday. On the Thursday prior I had conversations with two incredible moms who not only are parenting challenging kids, but also are giving so much of themselves through their volunteer efforts to reach out to other families and help them. Both expressed, in slightly different ways, that they were reaching an incredibly overwhelming point of personal burn out (Me too!). The next day, my favorite TV preacher’s topic was how Jesus retreated from the crowds after such an intense time of teaching, preaching and healing, to have some quiet reflection time and to commune with God. Hmmm…. What really got my attention was that the friend emailing about her Lenten idea quoted the exact same scripture!

Ok, now I’m getting the message, loud and clear! There are definitely Lenten seasons where we are supposed to give up something to remind us of all that was given up for us. But there are other Lenten seasons where the soul-searching is only going to come by taken on a new habit. For me, this season, my Lenten observation will be taking on the practice of nurturing my own spirit. What will this look like in practice? Well, I will strive to do at least one of these things daily (maybe more):

1. start my day with Bible study, prayer or listening to teaching about God.
2. take a walk and let my mind wander.
3. take a long bath.
4. read a book just for enjoyment.
5. make time in my schedule to call or email a friend.

If I succeed in practicing this over the next 40 days, I suspect that I will be rejuvenated and ready for the joyous celebration of Easter. Anyone wanna join me?

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