From Now Until Easter - An Imperfect Lent

From Ash Wednesday until Easter, I will post from Lent and Easter devotionals offered online. Tonight's post features excerpts written by Theresa Ceniccola, The Christian Mompreneur—a mentor to moms who are running a business that supports their values of faith and family. As president and founder of the International Christian Mompreneur Network, she empowers entrepreneurial moms to build profitable businesses with wisdom and grace. Join the International Christian Mompreneur Network for free and receive the Ten Commandments of a Mompreneur toolkit!
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Theresa writes:
I made my family chicken soup on Ash Wednesday. I don’t know what I was thinking – except that it was freezing cold outside and homemade soup sounded like a good idea. We had been housebound during a snowstorm and I knew the kids would love some warm soup. But it was Ash Wednesday. The very first day of Lent and I had already screwed up. I’m not sure how you observe Lent, but our fasting requires us to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and every Friday during Lent. Well, I typically don’t pay much attention to this requirement because I don’t eat meat anyway. But I do cook it for my family. #LentenFail

So what’s a mother to do when she’s gotten off to such an imperfect start? How can I be a spiritual leader for my children when I can’t even follow one simple rule? 

I admit, I don’t think I’ve ever had a “perfect Lent” – one in which I stuck to my promise of sacrifice or prayer without faltering. I always start out with good intentions but somewhere along the line, I give up. ...if you read closely, you’ll see me confess that I didn’t quite make it through 40 days of my Lenten practice last year. So I'm convicted to making it go better this year! Although, I’ve come to realize it will never be a perfect process.

God doesn’t expect us to be perfect. He knows we make mistakes. That’s why he sent his beloved son to save us from our sins. The only thing God expects is that when we fail, we try again. So here I am…trying again.

I believe that the idea of Lent is to learn to be more Christ-like in our everyday lives. The three pillars of Lent – prayer, fasting and almsgiving – were integral habits of Christ’s during his life on earth. When we choose to incorporate one or more of these habits in our lives during Lent (or anytime!) then we’re saying, “I want to live like Christ!” And that’s not an easy task... 

If you’ve “given up” on Lent, I want to encourage you to try again with me. Don’t beat yourself up about whatever it is that you consider your failure. Just open your heart and ask the Lord to guide you in selecting a sacrifice or habit you can develop this Lent.

Maybe you can replace a daily habit you enjoy (like watching TV or eating a snack before bed) with a daily habit that will glorify God (like saying a prayer or writing an encouraging note to someone). Maybe you can take the money you would normally spend on coffee and donate it to a charity. Whatever you choose, remember that Christ stumbled three times with the cross – and each time he got up again. If you stumble on your Lenten journey (like I did!), simply get up and keep going.

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Prayer:

Father,

          Thank You for sending Your Son to save us from our sins. During this sacred season, guide us into Your Truths and a deeper relationship with You. Give us the strength and courage to get up every time we fall so we can keep following You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen