Who's Excited for Lent

Lent was never my favorite season in the Church calendar. As a kid, it always seemed so solemn. All I knew was that I had to give something up as Jesus had given his life. One year, the Sisters at school said that we should give up something that we really loved. So I gave up cucumbers, my favorite snack in the whole world. (My mother was a health-nut like I am today.) When she asked what I had given up, and I told her cucumbers, she protested. She said I had to pick something else. I never could find a satisfactory substitute.

As I become older, I sacrificed on a grander scale. I once gave up television. (I had the best grades ever during that quarter.) I gave up candy once. (The dentist was happy about that.) It wasn't until I became a twenty-something that the sacrifices became more about cleansing myself of negativity and giving of myself more and more to God. I pledged to be more prayerful. I pledged to me more understanding. I pledged to be more giving of my material goods. (Though there was never much to give, especially in college.) When my husband and I married, our first Lent together was spent largely apart. I was pregnant and miserable and he was working. So I have grown to almost dread this season. I lose my husband to a landslide of work commitments and I have to work harder spiritually and physically.

But this year, something is different. I'm looking forward to Lent. I can't really explain it except to say that there is a normalcy in this ritual cleansing that I am craving this year. Our family has experienced some abnormalities this last year and I like knowing what I can expect, to some degree, this Lent. It's like a spring cleaning for the spirit where I am able to do more and be more for others. Plus, the little one can understand more this year, so maybe it will have even more meaning for our family. I invite everyone to get more excited about Lent as an opportunity rather than an obligation.