"Doing" Lent

Remember me? I'm the girl with the church that isn't "doing" Lent this year.

Well, my husband and I talked about it, and decided to bring up the idea with the youth group we lead (grades pre-k through 4). Guess what... the kids LOVE the idea. Two weeks ago, they busily decided what they could "give up" or "give to". We sent a note home to parents, explaining what we were doing, and none of the parents objected. So now, there is a small group of people in our church "doing" Lent, most of whom are younger than 10. They had some of the usual ideas (my daughter gave up chocolate, which she is managing to do with style), but some of their ideas were quite creative.

One of the littlest guys said he was going to give up digging. Yep, I didn't know what he meant, either. He said his favorite thing to do is dig holes, and his mom has been after him to stop digging up the yard. So he decided to give up digging.

One little girl said she is going to listen to her mom during Lent. *sigh* We'll see how that goes.

My son chose to give up quoting movies for Lent. "That doesn't sound too bad," you think. Well, for this 8-year-old, it is quite difficult. His conversation is littered with movie quotes. I think this is the hardest thing he's ever tried. However, he is not discouraged. He is a real trooper. He slips up frequently, but most often catches himself. Instead of beating himself up about it, he just vows to do better next time and goes on.

Now THAT is a lesson I need to learn. When I mess up, and eat my snacks or whatever, I berate myself about how bad it was. The truth is, God isn't keeping track of how many times I mess up. I believe He honors our efforts to draw near to Him. I think Lent is about getting our hearts in the right place to meet the risen Lord at Easter.

So, heart in the right place, we are "doing" Lent.