Beauty From Ashes

Today marks the first day of my favorite time of year. For most people, Ash Wednesday is rather depressing after the gaiety of Christmas and the Mardi Gras season. But being the closet introvert that I am, I see rest, relaxation, and reflection, as well as hope that dwells in the deepest core of the most heinous act mankind has ever committed. Most people view the season of Lent in a self sacrificing, torturous kind of way. You hear people grumbling about giving up this and that, but what is the point of giving something up just for the sake of doing it? Shouldn't it mean something? In the general scheme of things, the definition of sacrifice varies from person to person. So when we talk about giving up something for Lent, it should be something intensely personal. And no, it isn't necessary to publicize our decision. Ultimately it rests between us and God, anyway. Besides ourselves, God is the only one who knows if we are successful in our sacrifice, and what our hearts are like while we are making this journey.

For myself, in a previous post I had rambled about doing a Daniel Fast. Well, I thought about it and admitted to myself that it most likely wasn't going to happen. Even though fasting is not the same as dieting, I have been on enough diets to know my limitations where food is concerned. What I sacrifice should affect my life, yes, but it also shouldn't affect anyone else's, and if I were to do the Daniel Fast right now, it would definitely affect my family for the worst. I'm not saying I will never do this fast, but under current circumstances a drastic change such as this is not the best thing for my family. So I have decided to go the 'tame' route and fast from meat and refined sugar. This is still quite a sacrifice, especially as I think of how frequently I consume these products! Hopefully God will use my sacrifice to help me focus on satisfying my soul instead of satisfying my craving for a filet mignon. And being inspired by Pastor Robert at the Ash Wednesday service tonight, I will be sacrificing something else...but that is between me and God. Let this be a time of healing, reflection, and letting go in preparation for the darkest AND brightest time of our Christian year. God bless you and keep you.