Lent

I've been thinking about Lent a lot this past week. Its a tough thing to commit to. Its all about self-denial, fasting and prayer. So I was going over the things in my life that take up a lot of my day or thought process, and it came to, movies, computer time, reading, on school days I obsess over where to eat dinner, and lately I've taken to comforting myself in sweets, be it a few M&M's or a day of sweet snacking, if I'm stressed I dive for the closest thing that contains sugar. I read a note my friend Tom wrote about Lent, and it's really stuck with me. He talks about Lent being a time to bring balance back to your life, and man, have I ever been off balance lately. He also asks the question, "Will the world be a better place if you give up chocolate?" That question floored me. Because no, nothing will change in the world if I decide my sweets have to go.  No one will even be helped if I just give up my computer time or stop watching movies every night. This doesn't mean I shouldn't give up sweets, or my media time, not at all. That's a time of self denial and fasting for me. 

And I've been thinking about what I'd replace my media time with when I wind up having so much extra time in my day. I'd love to be able to say I'd spend more time with the Lord in prayer, and studying my Bible because that sounds good. But I'm not always the first one to jump into intense Bible reading. I love the Lord but that part is hard for me. I do the "popcorn" prayer thing a lot, so to devote myself to a solid time of prayer feels inconvenient to me. And wow do I hate to admit that. Which is why I've come to the conclusion that because these things feel like they'd be so hard to give up, and so hard to do that these are exactly the things I should be giving up and doing. Who knows what God will do with me once I choose to obey and follow him. So this time of Lent is looking to be a very challenging one for me, but I'm pretty excited about it.