Lent: Creating Space for God

You have likely heard of “giving it up for Lent.” In many parts of the Christian tradition, people give something up for the 40 days leading up to Easter, which make up the season of Lent. This year Lent begins on Wednesday March 2, as marked by our Ash Wednesday service. I highly recommend the practice of giving something up for a season. The idea is that you give up something that is fine for you to have most of the year, and which you will miss when you stop having it. When you miss it, hopefully that reminds you to take a moment to ask God to give you strength or take a moment to reflect on all that Jesus did for you. Lent is not a diet, even if you give up chocolate. The physical thing you give up is meant to be a symbol and a reminder of the spiritual journey you are on with Christ.

Now, having said all that, this year we are actually inviting you to “add something” during Lent. Without suggesting that you don’t give something up, our focus in the Lent series will be on Spiritual Disciplines (or Faith formation practices). These disciplines or practices are things we do to make space for God to be at work in us. They are ways of taking time to notice, hear, or sense what the Spirit is saying. Each week we will focus on a different discipline (silence, fasting, service, hospitality, study, creation, celebration). You can pick one now and work on it for all of Lent, or you can do something with each of them after they are introduced. However you do it, trust that you will be blessed by creating some more space for God to be at work in your life.

-Pastor Erick