As a far-from-liturgical Christian, the Lenten season (40 days from Ash Wednesday until Easter) was mostly a mystery to me. I saw it as a quaint ritual practiced by folks in those other Christian streams who did not benefit from the Reformation. But, I have begun to see the need of more spiritual preparation for Easter than a vague hope that the church musical or pageant would be good and that someone would get me some robin's eggs candy. The past couple of years I have attempted, with varying degrees of success, to commit to some form of self-denial as a means to focus my attention on the deeper meaning of Easter.
This year in particular, what I perceived as 'giving up' of something I valued proved to result in less time wasted, greater joy, reduced anxiety. It may become a permanent change. The hidden benefits of self-denial...
what did you give up for lent?
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