Guest Post! "Another Quaker Girls' Lent Journey"

I pray that as you read my guest blogger today, my wonderful daughter, Mel, that you, too, will be challenged on what you are or are not doing to deepen your relationship with our Lord.  All of the pictures posted are a gift from me to her.  I probably spent as long searching for "just the right picture" as she did writing... she may or may not thank me for that.  Hey, it's my blog, right?!

 

Lent 2014

It is the season of Lent and I am feeling bent and out of sorts. I have to ask myself why. I have a lot on my plate. I am busy all the time. I get stressed and anxious easily. Not to mention my depression. Some days I feel so worn. Thinking about Lent is not an exciting thought. I give so much of myself every day, giving up something else was not appealing. I even thought about skipping Lent this year. What good does it really do? What is the point? I felt like it was just like any other Spiritual discipline. I had made up my mind, no Lent this year. I am not giving anything up. It felt like that was all I was doing lately... giving, giving, and more giving. It was one more thing to think about, to consume my thoughts and my energy, and I felt like I could not spread myself out anymore. I was just going to lose it! So I went to bed that night knowing that I could not bring myself to give anything up for Lent.

 

 

The next morning I was reading my Bible and I stumbled upon John 3:29-30 “The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bride groom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.” These verses hit me like a brick. When I had been thinking about Lent I only thought about the negative effects that it might have on me. I did not think about the effects it would have on Christ and my relationship with Him. I never thought about how Lent would give glory to my Lord and draw me closer to Him. I realized there was nothing in my schedule more important than that. I had to find something to give up. This part was a long process. At first I was justifying why I could not give things up.  

 

I could not give up my homework because I needed good grades in school.

I could not give up my computer because I needed it for homework.

I could not give up Facebook because that is how I communicate with people.

(Moma will be nice and NOT post a facebook picture.)

I could not give up coffee because I needed it to function.

 

One thing after another I justified why I could not give it up for 40 days. I kept going down the list and I thought that I could give up soda and candy. I quickly found a reason why I could not do that. They are my little pick-me-ups during the day. I had to cut myself short at that moment. My justification was the perfect reason why I should give up soda and candy. Instead of letting these little things pick up my spirits when they are low, I should turn to the Lord for that. When I usually go to get a soda or reach for a piece of candy I am going to reach for my Bible instead.

I pray that the Lord will be glorified during this season of Lent. I also pray that even after this season that I continue to reach for my Bible for my pick-me-ups instead of things that won’t last or satisfy.

 

 

#Lent #LentProblems