I have mixed feelings about Ash Wednesday and Lent. I think the liturgical calendar is a wonderful thing for helping us do a better job putting God in the center of our life through its rhythms. I think intentional preparation should take place as we approach the Lenten season.
All that being said, I do not see how abstaining from chewing bubble gum for 40 days is going to help an individual join Christ in his ministry, death and Resurrection. It is for this reason that I have joined the camp of additions not subtractions for lent (such as committing to daily scripture reading and prayer/quiet time, journaling to God and etc. during the 40 days of lent). This year, however, inspired by my partnership with Fuller Youth Institute's Sticky Faith Initiative, I've decided to do something different.
Pisteuo is the greek word that is usually translated as faith. Faith has become such an abstract impotent word in our culture. That is why I think it is helpful to replace faith with trust (another acceptable use of pisteuo). With that in mind then, the idea of having faith in God means that I chose to trust Him in the situations, relationships and struggles of my life.
In lieu of this, I have decided to attempt to give up control for Lent. I am a control freak, as such, I really suck at trusting God. So, for the next 40 days I am going to very diligently attempt to give up control of the work challenges, marital struggles and parenting frustrations in my life by handing them over to God, trusting that He can do a better job of dealing with them than I.
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