It doesn’t have to be that way

The season of Lent carries with it images of people wearing long faces and feeling badly about themselves. It doesn’t have to be that way. Lent begins with receiving ashes on your forehead as a sign of repentance, prayer and fasting and continues for the next forty days. This is a time to reflect on your life by giving up old bad habits in place of developing new good habits.

The discipline of giving up something and taking on something else in its place can be of very practical help. If we give up something that we enjoy but which is not good for us, we are better off for it. Give up idle talk and learn to listen more carefully. Give up being self-absorbed and be more aware of others. Practice the fine art of keeping your eyes open to the beauty of God’s creation, your ears shut to malicious gossip, your tongue held in respecting confidences. Keep an open mind about people and situations instead of jumping to conclusions. Think about how you can make someone’s day with an encouraging word. Such disciplines can be part of your everyday life long after the season if Lent is over.

Take time each day to be alone with God and reflect on what has meaning in your life. Think about what and whom you have in your life that you sometimes take for granted. Rather than dwell on those who may have offended you remember those whom you have hurt and make amends. Don’t put it off. The season of Lent is a time for reflection and changing the way you think and live. It need not be all about groveling and breast-beating. Who wants to do that anyway?