A Pause In Lent #1

If you read the blog by Floss [here] you can check out the other people taking part in this.

The aim is just to spend a quiet moment during the weekends of Lent to reflect on what it is all about.

So here is my Lent Post #1...

 

I am a Nonconformist through and through, and I remember at school being vaguely amused by Catholic friends who 'gave up chocolate' for Lent and declared themselves more spiritual than those of us who continued to enjoy the stuff. But it is a good discipline to focus our thoughts for the 6 weeks up till Easter.

Floss says in a recent post "For me I think the key word has got to be 'repentance', which means no more than 'turning'. It's about taking time to look at your life and the direction it's going in. Not happy with that direction? Turn! As a Christian I feel that the direction I always need to be moving in is towards Jesus."

I would agree wholeheartedly with that.

On Ash Wednesday, as we drove along the A47 from Cornerstones back to Leicestershire, I was talking with Bob about this. "Giving up" is OK, if there is something that you feel would make a difference. I do not eat that many sweets, and having committed to doing these Lenten Blogs, I cannot now give up blogging!

I did wonder about giving up listening to The Archers, but the current storyline is so sad, and I want to hear how the Vicar Of Ambridge gets through his Lent Challenge too...

What about giving away? asked Bob. You could throw away 10 things every day! We were just finishing our picnic in the car at this point, and I was counting a piece of clingfilm, paper napkin, yogurt pot... No - that would hardly count as a constructive focus for my thoughts.

Conclusion;

For the FORTY days of Lent, EVERY day I WILL give ONE thing away for a GOOD purpose. It can be from the following list

• something I am fond of, which I pass on to someone else as a gift
• something I have no longer any use for which can go to a Charity Shop
• something which is no use to me, or another as it is, but can be usefully recycled.
• something I've made [including greetings cards], which can be a gift for someone else
• if I get to bedtime and have NOT fulfilled this, then I will put £1 aside to be given to a good cause at Easter.

I am not going to list these things on my blog on a daily basis, I don't think that would be right - but maybe at the end of Lent I will share some of the things that have made a difference.

I want to be truly thoughtful about this - not take the easy route and write out a cheque for £40 on Easter Sunday!