A Small Sacrifice

As indicated in my previous post, my husband and I have decided to participate in the practice of lent this year. Born out of our year-long desire to be more disciplined in various areas of our lives, the practice (not celebration) of lent seemed fitting.

Seeing as I've never practiced lent before, I find myself drawn to any discussion I hear or read online about lent. In so doing I stumbled upon a blog from www.boundless.org. The post spoke to me and where my heart is this year. "Lent is not something I feel bound to observe, but it is something I want to do this year. Over and over and over again, the God of the Bible tells His people to remember. To write His words on our hearts, to celebrate feasts to commemorate what He has done. And as Easter approaches, fasting from something is a very small way to sacrifice, to remember whenever we have a craving, that Jesus sacrificed so much for us." (Read the whole blog here: "Forty Days of Lent."

As the forty days of lent continue, I must admit that I am enjoying my personal pledge to abstain from television. While, as one friend noted in her comments to me, the idea of getting enjoyment out of the sacrifice seems wrong, choosing to spend my time in other ways has produced results I never expected. My husband and I are talking more (not that we never talked before...), I'm reading more and getting more rest. And I'm flipping on our stereo more to fill the house with praise and other contemporary Christian music that is feeding my soul. I aware of the sacrifice I'm making when I am tempted to see if there's a movie on, or to check out the FoodNetwork, but when I feel that urge I stop and thank the Lord for the greater sacrifice He made for me. A sacrifice that I enjoy even more than the benefits I've found from not watching TV... a sacrifice that gives me hope, fills me with joy, and gives me a peace that passes all human understanding.