40DoP

As much of the Christian community is entering into the season of Lent, I am reminded of traditions from my childhood. My mother was raised Catholic, and although she left Catholicism around age 13, a lot of customs and ideas from it stuck with her through her adulthood. We never ate meat on Good Friday. God was a creature to be feared, always watching.

The idea of Lent always frightened and bothered me. An urgent celebration of senseless indulgence, followed by forty days of complaint and lack, followed by another celebration and an Easter egg hunt. I didn't really get it. In fact, seeing people who didn't even really believe in their religion give up things like chocolate or coffee didn't exactly ignite in me a fire for the Lord. These people weren't giving anything up out of a love for God or a desire to serve him better. Many of them were sacrificing out of a feeling of guilt, obligation, self-righteousness or even a secret hope to drop a few pounds in forty days.

Now, Lenten sacrifice is not something that my non-denominational faith expressly requires. However, there have been times when I feel that God is specifically calling me to lay something down for a period...whether it is Lent or another time of the year. Often, I feel that I need to stop listening to a certain type of music, or perhaps step away from a television program, or maybe cut a specific snack or favorite food out of my diet.

However, this year, when I woke up on Wednesday (having forgotten that Fat Tuesday was the day before), I checked my friends' status updates, and one was a beautiful message, a quote from a song, about God's love. Immediately, I was inspired to spend the next forty days trying to express gratitude for God's presence in my life. I decided that my first status update every morning would be a "thank you" to God. Nothing would be too obvious to take for granted or too insignificant to escape appreciation. If I had something in my life that made my life better in some way, I would tell about it. If I had been through trials that improved my character, I would tell about it. If I was struggling with something, I would thank God that he is giving me the strength to overcome it.

Maybe you are confused about Lent, too. Or maybe you have blindly observed it all your life, unsure of the meaning behind it. Maybe you do understand, and you love the Lord enough to willingly give up something that brings you pleasure. At any rate, I invite you to join me in Forty Days of Praise (40DoP) and thank God for something every single morning. Try to think on that one thing all day. Sometimes, gratitude is all that gets us through a difficult time.

On this snowy Pittsburgh morning, I am grateful for my freedom in Christ, my friends and family, a good cup of coffee (from my favorite Starbucks!), a warm blanket and a warm-hearted husband!